Over The Counter
by TwiAddictAnee
Summary: Seattle pharmacist Bella Swan thinks her chance at a fairy tale love story is over when her parents push her towards an arranged marriage. For Doctor Edward Cullen, love was never in the radar. Will the arrangement mean a love-less marriage? Or will love find them along the way? AH, OOC, Canon Couples. Rated M for language but may contain lemons in later chapter.
1. Chapter 1: My Super Boring Life

**Chapter-1: My Super Boring Life**

Hey! I'm Bella, as in, Isabella Swan. But I prefer Bella. I'm 23 years old pharmacist with a super boring life. My dad, Charlie (also known as Chief Swan), is a cop in the stupid, little, mossy town of Forks, Washington. My mom, Renee, is totally harebrained. She changes her hobbies every few months. But professionally, she's a kindergarten teacher at the Forks Elementary. She loves to experiment with stuffs like- hairdressing (a disaster!), pottery (she somehow singed her eyebrows with that one!) or candle-making (this one was epic- setting me Dad's beloved uniforms on fire!)... Well, you get the idea.

Charlie is the exact opposite of Renee. He goes to work, gets back home, lounges on the recliner, watches TV (sports _only_!) while drinking beer or having dinner and then goes to bed. Totally boring!

Sometimes I wish I was like my Mom- a little bit... at least in the beauty front! But no! I was all Charlie! Standing before the mirror I always curse my Dad. Did he have to be so... _plain_? I had both his boring chocolate brown eyes and uncharacteristic brown hair. If it's any consolation, my hair does have part of my Mom in the red highlights and the slight curls in the ends. My skin is porcelain white – from my Mom – seriously I look like a part albino or some shit! My figure is _not to die for_; it is okay. Though my best friend, Rosalie, always says I have a decent rack and mile long legs but… well, she's supposed to say that- she's my best friend after all.

I was born and raised in the slimy, sickly, sloppy town of Forks; where it rained over 360 days of the year. I hate that place. At the end of high school when everyone was either getting married (small town mentality… getting pregnant then getting married) or preparing to escape to sunnier climates, I could not. It was not due to lack of good grades or scholarships; it was because I knew my parents will be heart-broken without me. That was the time I seriously wished I had a younger sibling.

Anyway, I gave up Stanford, UCLA and NYU. Instead, I went to college in Seattle. It was a good compromise. I didn't have to live in Forks but was only 4 hours away from my parents. Rose, being the most dedicated best friend, joined me there for Pharm D. Now, after 5 years of excruciating studies we are both registered pharmacists. We had both applied to Seattle Grace hospital for jobs- Rose as a hospital pharmacist and me as a clinical pharmacist.

Last month we got our appointment letters. Now we are living in the apartment which Rose's parents Mr. and Mrs. Hale had gotten us with Rose's little brother (by 6 minutes), Jasper. Jasper was doing an internship at Seattle Grace and we are like three happy siblings!

In Seattle, Rose became a night patron of sorts. Her latest haunt was Joe's – a bar most of Seattle Grace frequented. There she would pick some random guy for each night, go clubbing or something, and then within a week she moves onto the next guy. Whereas I, dutifully went to work, after work went to Joe's (only if work was stressful – which it wasn't in most days; because for the first month I was to intern under various doctors. Then I was going to be appointed to one of them), came back home and went to bed. So in that sense, I am truly Charlie's daughter.

On weekends, I would go home to visit my parents and then curl up in my old bed with one of my classic romance novels. I liked the idea of romance, having never experienced it myself. Being perpetually awkward and having a Dad with access to guns never really attracted guys. So… yeah, I am Isabella Swan, 23 years old and still a virgin.


	2. Chapter 2: Urgent Calls

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: I have four things to say, first, I have absolutely NO IDEA about the hospital system in the US. The only ideas I have are based on watching too much TV shows... :P**

**Second, there is no job position of clinical pharmacist in Bangladesh, yet. And I really have no idea what are their responsibilities in the outside world. So I am basing my story on the limited idea I got from my professors in university about the roles and responsibilities of clinical pharmacists. As this is purely a fiction, I intend to take some liberties.**

**Third, I'd like to thank each and every one of you who have taken some time out to read, favourite and put on alert my story. A special thanks to Leibeezer for your encouraging review! J**

**Finally, this is gonna be a slow ride for a while guys, so please be patient. And in the mean time, head over to read my one-shot ****_Yes!_**

**Chapter-2: Urgent Calls**

On Friday morning, August 4th, 2013, on the way to my rounds with Dr. Farrell, the Chief of Medicine, my cell phone started ringing. I shot him an apologetic glance and went to answer it. It was my Dad.

"Hello! Dad, you know I'll come home tomorrow morning. Why are you calling _now_? I was on my rounds!"

"_Sorry, Kid. But your Mom had been badgering me to make sure you get home by tomorrow._"

"Why?" I asked warily, "Dad is something wrong?"

"_No, Bells don't worry. We just want to share some news with you. But it can wait till tomorrow._"

"Okay, Dad. I'll see you tomorrow then. Love you. Bye."

"_Love you too, Kiddo. See ya._"

Well, that was weird. What news can be so urgent that Mom had to make sure I did go home? I go home every weekend. So what's different this time? My hyperactive imagination ran the possible scenarios ranging from me getting a new sibling to my parents getting a divorce. But I quickly shook that thought because anyone with eyes could see how much in love they were. I guess I would find out tomorrow. I shrugged and went back to my rounds.

The day continued as any day in Seattle Grace – hectic but a learning experience. During my lunch break, I was sitting with Rose cradling my latte when suddenly she said, "Hey, did you tell your parents you'll not go to Forks tomorrow?" I instantly tensed up, "No. Why?" "Oh! I don't know", she shrugged, "Your mom called me to make sure we don't have any plans for the weekend and that you're going home tomorrow." Again, I felt a nagging on my mind. What was it about? Why are they desperate to get me home? Anyway I didn't dwell on my suspicions and told Rose that I had no idea. Then she snickered and said may be Renee had found a new recipe to torture us with (I forgot! Renee's culinary skills – worse than the candle making incident… just saying!).

While we were laughing about Renee's cooking expertise, Jasper joined us at the table and started talking a 1000 miles a second, "Dude! Have you guys seen the new neurology resident who came by today to sign the contract?" "No", both Rose and I replied. Jasper looked pleased to have the privilege of seeing the guy before us and said, "Well, you should've seen him. He's awesome! I was giving reports on one of our patients to the Chief and he diagnosed the problem just from listening to us!" I chided him saying, "So, eavesdropping on people and diagnosing a patient without any interaction with him is awesomeness?" Jasper's eyes almost popped out of his head, "Seriously, Dude, you didn't see him. He's like a _neuro-god_ or some shit!" Before I could make a snarky come back he continued, "And seeing as you, Sis, majored in CNS drugs… I believe you will be put under him when you get your placement." Rose, being the bitchy friend she was, had to snicker at that one, "Oh yeah! I bet Bella will be _under_ him!" I pulled a face at both of them and flipped them off before going back to work.

That night when I got home the answering machine was blinking. There were three messages – two for Jasper and one from my Mom. I skipped to play my one –

"_Hey, Bella, it's Mom. I was just checking to make sure you're coming down here tomorrow. Listen Sweetie is there anything you want to eat? I could cook a welcome home dinner. If want call me with the menu! Drive safe. Love you._"

I snorted at the message. I was a better cook than Renee. Why she would think that I would call her with a menu to get food poisoning was beyond me! Then the light bulb went off! They were pampering me! That means something was up… something very unpleasant. I tried to tell myself to not to over-think and went to bed.

After a restless night of sleep I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to drive down to Forks in my second-hand beat up Chevy truck. I was too anxious for breakfast. So after downing my coffee like it was the last drop of water on earth and saying hasty goodbyes to both Rosalie and Jasper, I was on my way home.


	3. Chapter 3: Temper Tantrums

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: I would like to thank every one of you who have put OTC on your favorite story and a very special thanks to sujari6 for reviewing.**

**Guys, I'm new to fanfic writing and your support means a lot to me. And it will be nice to hear from my readers about what you think of my story so far. So, please review, if you don't mind. I'd love to read your thoughts. J**

**Chapter-3: Temper Tantrums**

"Mom? Dad? I'm home", I shouted from the front porch seeing both of my parents' cars in the driveway. This confused me even further. Most Saturday mornings dad would go fishing near the reservation with his best friend Billy Black. Actually, the only time I remember him staying in was about 5 years back- for an intervention…

It was New Years Day and my traitor friend, Jacob, Billy's son, had kissed me at midnight. It was nothing… just a chaste peck on the lips. He said he wanted my first kiss to be from someone who cared about me. I allowed it knowing that he felt more than friendship towards me only because I wanted my _first kiss_ shit to be over with before going off to college. It felt weird… like kissing my brother. Anyway I had explained my reasons for agreeing with him beforehand and he swore that it will be a one-time thing. The _piece of shit_ even promised me to keep it a secret. But like the big fat liar he is, the Traitor broke the promise on that night itself. And told his _and_ my parents that we were in love! _What a joke, right?_

By next morning his and my parents had arranged a full-on intervention to make me wear his promise ring (a Quileute equivalent of engagement ring) before I went off to college. Needless to say, I threw a HUGE tantrum; yelling and happily punching the living daylights out of Jake. That was the end of our friendship. I haven't kissed anyone ever since- let alone going out on a date… EVER. My reason was if a chaste peck from a D-bag brought that on who knew what the hell would happen if it was some random guy!

"Bells! Renee, she's home", Charlie's gruff voice brought me out of my past misery.

"Hey, Dad, what's up with the urgent home calls?" I asked. My query was a light one but seeing Charlie tense up made my previous suspicions more concrete.

"Nothing, Honey. Charlie let her come in and get settled first", my mom beamed from the doorway before coming to give me a nearly smothering hug.

I let Reneé lead me to my old room. It was just like it has been since I started High School- fairy lights, violet comforter, books all over the desk and nightstand, same pale yellow curtains- all of it. I missed my the bed like crazy in Seattle- it used to be my safe cloud in dreaded teen years at Forks High.

After freshening up and a rather Reneé-like lunch of _slightly burnt spaghetti with severely burnt meatballs_, we all sat down in the living room. For the first time since I could remember, Dad _did not_ switch on the TV. _Man! This shit- whatever it was- was serious!_

When I couldn't take the staring contest my parents seemed to be having I decided to break the silence. "Okay, guys, what's up? Why were you so anxious to get me home?" I looked form one to the other. Charlie looked at me guiltily and then shrugged towards Reneé as if to say, "All yours!" Huh! This was getting weirder by the minute.

"Mom?", I looked at Reneé rather sternly. Reneé gave me a nervous laugh and then started, "Sweetie, do you remember Dr. Cullen? He used to work in Forks General Hospital?" I could not see where this conversation was going so only shook my head. "Well, he had to put you together during the first four years of your life." _What the…? Why is she referring to my clumsiness? And talking like I'm fucking Humpty-Dumpty and I broke needing fixing in my childhood… Has my mother been drinking?_ All these thoughts quickly ran through my head.

"So…?" I pushed for answers.

Mom took a look at Dad, who was eagerly studying his fingernails, and continued, "See, Honey, Carlisle uprooted his family from here and went to England just after you turned four." _Well, someone had the brains to leave this boring as shit town- unlike you two_… was my first thought. However I kept my snarky remark to myself and simply nodded for her to continue.

Mom gave Dad another pleading look and he decided to take over, "See, Bells, the Cullens are back in town. In fact, Carlisle is coming over for dinner tonight with his wife, Esme and daughter, Alice." I raised my eyebrows and asked, "So… you want me to cook dinner?" That would make perfect sense. So, obviously Charlie shook his head saying, "No, no, I ordered Pizza already. It's actually not about dinner, Kid. We wanted to talk about your future."

Finally the light bulb went on my head. They were desperate to have me move back to Forks. So they have recruited the good doctor to get me job in the hospital here. _Well, sorry guys, but if you think I'm gonna leave my awesome job and come back to this hell hole you're sorely mistaken!_ I whined, "Oh! Dad, you can't be serious! I cannot leave Seattle Grace and come here to work for your friend."

"No, Honey, it's not about your job", Mom interfered, "The thing is, Carlisle and Esme happen to have a _son_." Oh, God! This was _not_ happening. My parents were trying to hook me up with the son?!

"No way, Mom! I'm _not _gonna date your friend's son." I was about to continue my rant about my freedom and shit but before I could, they both started to shake their heads.

"Okay, good. So, what about this guy?" I asked curiously.

My dad took a deep breath and said, "We do _not_ want you to _date_ him. We want you to _marry_ him." I snorted at Charlie's attempt at humor. But before I could start laughing my ass off I saw both of them look very serious.

My whole world seemed to have stopped. Then I erupted like a damn volcano. "WHAT? JUST BECAUSE I DON'T DATE SOME WEIRDO YOU WANT ME TO MARRY THIS STRANGER WHO SOUNDS LIKE A LOSER? ARE YOU GUYS _THAT_ DESPERATE TO GET RID OF ME? WELL GUESS WHAT? I DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. IN FACT I'M GONNA GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW!" both my parents looked at me like I was freaking medusa and they had turned into statues. I stomped my feet and went up to my room to pack up my stuff to leave once and for all.

As soon as I was inside my childhood room, the waterworks began. This is what happened when I became angry. Now I was livid with my parents for trying to make my life's decisions for me. However, alone in my room, the anger slowly subsided and sadness took hold of me.

I knew I wasn't pretty or that I would never get a fairytale wedding. But was it too much to expect that someday someone will take my hands not because he was forced to do so but because he wanted to? Apparently, it was! When your parents think you are gonna need an _arranged_ marriage that means you're totally worthless.

And this guy… I didn't even know his name… he must have some defect… like being blind or mute or _fucking _impotent (pun intended)! Otherwise why wouldn't he get a girl for himself? According to Charlie, he was brought up in England. So he must be a British snob! (**A/N: Not intended as an insult to British people.**)

I broke into fresh tears just thinking about my miserable self. After a few minutes there was a timid knock on my door- Charlie- Renee _never_ knocked. I slowly wiped my tear-stained cheeks and sat up as Charlie peeked through the door.

**A/N: Good news for you guys, the chapters are gonna get longer from now on. And you're gonna get a glimpse of someone I'm sure you're dying to meet. Any guesses who will it be? ;-) **


	4. Chapter 4: Resigned Acceptance

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has favorited, put on alert and just read OTC. A very hearty thanks to sujari6, cbmorefie, Mandita 93, Mireads, alc1002, shea1223 and Meyer-Madness for reviewing. You guys made me smile. :-)**

**This chapter contains someone I'm sure you've all been eager to meet... so... Enjoy! ;-)**

**Chapter-4: Resigned Acceptance**

"Umm… Bells?", Charlie calls softly from the doorway.

I don't look up at him. I can't face the pitiful look I was gonna see in my dad's face. Instead I ask in a low voice, "Is he blind? Has cancer? Is he Bald? Or is defective in any other way?"

My question seems to confuse him. He asks, "What are you talking about? Edward's perfectly healthy. He is a doctor himself so I'm sure he takes care of his health."

This eggs me on even more. I petulantly continue, "Then what the hell is his _problem_? C'mon Dad, he must have some sort of defect. Just his name sounds so old-fashioned. And, a doctor you say? So is he really old or something?" I know to make Charlie happy to give my hand to- a guy has to be established at the least. And as far as I've seen most established doctors are of thirty plus age.

However, Charlie doesn't seem to get my rational response. In fact he looks amused at my line of questioning and says, "No, Bells. He was named after his grandfather. His name may be old-fashioned but he is modern. Trust me on this one, Kid. As for his age, he's only about two years older than you. So, I guess you can't call him old, per se."

I glare at my dad and reply venomously, "What the hell do you mean by _modern_? Is he gay or a man-whore or some shit?" I've never used such language with my father before but I was too far gone to care at this point.

Charlie looked shocked at my outburst for a moment before chuckling through his reply, "Nope. As far as I know he's straight. As for the _other_ incrimination, I ran a background check on him. Clean as a whistle. According to Carlisle, who knows from his friends and colleagues, Edward is quite shy. He likes to keep to himself and has only had one serious girlfriend. That was in high school. The girl did a number on him and from then on he has just concentrated on his studies… That's all I know."

Now I decide to try a different route to soften my dad. I look up at him with pleading puppy dog eyes and say softly, "Dad, do you really want _this_ for me? You want me to marry a complete stranger and leave my career at Seattle and move back here in Forks? Why did you even go to suggest them with this… _proposal_?"

Charlie gives me a soft smile and says, "No worries, Kid. I know you hate this town. We don't want you to feel trapped in here. You are a brilliant person, Bells and you deserve the chance to grow the fullest to your abilities. Edward works at Seattle. So, you will not have to move back here… just pack your stuff up and move in to his house. Oh… and just to clarify, _I_ did not approach _them_. It was_ Carlisle_ who asked _me_ about you. He and Esme, his wife, have always loved you as if you were a part of their family, Bells."

Well, that made the good doctor and his wife rather lovely people. However I was still trying to find a loophole and continued to whine, "But, Dad, what makes you think that this… _Edward_… even wants to marry me? May be he has some secret girlfriend or something. How can _you_, who would not let me go to _high school prom_ with a guy, allow a complete stranger into my life?" I was at my last straw. If _this_ didn't work I don't know what will.

Dad slowly strokes my hair and replies, "Bells, before even broaching this subject with you I confirmed with Carlisle that Edward was on board with it. Do you think that if he had a girlfriend he'd agree to this marriage?" When I don't say anything he continues, "I've personally met the boy last week, Kid. And I don't think even if you waited for five more years you'd find someone better. He's a good guy. He's everything I would have wanted my own son to be. He has an honest look about him which has made me trust him. I'm not asking you to trust him _yet_, all I'm asking is for you to trust your old man."

To Charlie's request I had no reply, no snarky come-backs. So I stiffly nodded, resigning my future on the hands of fate and said with a sigh, "Okay, Dad. You win. I will meet his family tonight and yes, I will marry him. Because I love you guys and trust you to know what's best for me. I just hope I don't regret this decision in the future."

Charlie hugged me and thanked me softly before leaving me alone and completely resigned.

What was in my future? _Some_ guy- a Dr. Edward Cullen- apparently!

**-OTC-**

**_Meanwhile… in Seattle… Dr. Edward Cullen sat at his penthouse frowning at the ringing cell phone clutched in his hand…_**

**EPOV**

As soon as I heard the ringing I instantly knew what this call was about. It was about _her_. I still could not believe that I had agreed to this madness. I know that I was distracted and worried about my possible work prospect as the new resident neurosurgeon at Seattle Grace when my family asked me for my decision but that doesn't mean I could take it back now.

_Damn! It seemed like a good idea then. I mean I _know_ that I am not interested in dating so an arrangement seemed like the solution. Cullen, if you fuck it up you have to answer to your parents as well as _her_ family… did you think of that before agreeing, Jackass?_ No matter how much I chastise myself I have no way of backing out now.

When dad asked me to join him in his study to meet his friend a few weeks back I didn't think it will lead to _this_! I mean… sure, the guy is decent and somewhat quiet…but he's the Chief of Police for crying out loud! I could already imagine what his daughter would be like.

It's not hard to guess. I mean, in between being a cop's daughter and an only child, I could easily see her as a pompous brat. Even her name… _Isabella_… it made her sound like a freaking movie star or something! Yup… definitely spoiled!

The continuous ringing of my phone brought me out of my reverie. Alice. I loved my baby sister, don't get me wrong, but she can be such a pest!

I sighed and answered, "Hey Alice! Don't you have dad's credit card to burn a hole into or something?" Her tinkling laughter was followed by her amused answer, "Hello to you too, big brother! And for your information, I have my own credit card now. So, the responsibility of burning Dad's card now is completely Mom's. By the way, we are on our way to meet the one who's gonna punch a hole in _your_ card, brother dear!" She finished in one breath before stopping.

_What?_ I couldn't for the life of me understand the kid! So I bit the bullet and ask, "Umm…Alice… What are you talking about?" Queue the laughter and then the actual answer, "You are so silly, Ed. I don't understand how you got distinction from Oxford with that brain of yours! What I meant was… we, as in Mom, Dad and I, are going to meet Isabella Swan… your future wife. Understood?"

I huffed at her and reply curtly, "Allie, if you had brains like mine then you would at least spend _some_ of your time _out_ of your closet! Anyway, why are you guys going there? If she's not interested then don't try to convince her otherwise. And don't call her my… _wife_! You don't even know if she wants this thing or not." I could not hide my hopeful tone from my surprisingly perceptive sister.

"Oh! No, Brother! Don't sound so hopeful. Her mother just called Mom and confirmed her answer. So don't think we're _intruding_ or anything. They _invited_ us. I just called to brag that we're all gonna meet your bride-to-be before you do." I could almost hear her snicker.

"That's _fucking_ awesome!" I huffed yet again. _Way to be grumpy, Edward!_ Then I quietly add, "Allie?" Alice sobered right up at my tone, "What is it, Edward?" I take some time to figure out my request.

"Can you do something for me, Allie? Can you just ask her if she truly wants this or not? I just need to know that… _Isabella_ is not being forced into this. Please, Allie?" When Alice remains silent I pleaded with her once more. "I know you are very excited about having a sister and all. But I cannot go to the altar and pledge myself to her without knowing if she wants it or not."

After another long silence Alice said slowly, "Okay, Edward, I'll do this for you. Though I have a _feeling_ that she's gonna be the best thing to have ever happened to you, especially after that _skank_- Tanya. But I'll do it for you… for _both_ of you."

I repressed the shudder of hatred that passed through me at the mention of Tanya and said in a relieved tone, "Thanks, Alice. You are the best little sister. You know that, right?" This time it was Alice who huffed dramatically and replied, "Of course, I know. Who else can even come close to my awesomeness?" I had to smile at her joke.

After a few more minutes of small talk, Alice hung up to get ready. I dropped my cell phone to the bed side cabinet and sat cradling my head in my hands.

After the Tanya incident in high school my ego took quite a bruising. I had avoided girls as the bubonic plague since then. I had planned to keep it that way but it seemed as if fate had something else in store for me.

I sighed in my hands and resigned to my fate. Then I made a resolve. I _would_ do this for my family. If a wife is what I can give to make them happy then so be it. I just hoped Isabella Swan would not turn out to be the brat I was making her out to be!

**A/N: So, what do you guys think? Leave me your thoughts in form of reviews, please? They make my day... truly. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5: Meet the In-Laws

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: The last chapter had many reviewers complaining about the fact that E/B is not meeting before their families. It's just something new I tried. Just like jansails said in her review, E/B are both career-oriented people. Bella doesn't believe that finding true love is possible since she had never even had a boyfriend before. As for Edward, he's recently uprooted his life from England and is now focusing on making his career in the US. He was not really looking for a date. Their parents thought that they might need someone to share their lives with. So, they made an arrangement to get them married. In this way, E/B won't need to date someone just for the sake of it and they'll have someone to share their lives with. I just ask you to have a little faith. It'll all sort itself out, I promise!**

**On a happy note, OTC has now had over 3K hits! So, thank you to all who have read, reviewed, favorited and put OTC on alert! You guys made me smile when I was literally cracking open rats' skulls to get a look at their brains... and before you think I'm crazy, it's for my research project on anti-psychotic drugs... so in that way I turn rats crazy! :-P**

**I'm going to shut up after saying one thing... Enjoy! :-D**

**Chapter-5: Meet the In-Laws**

I don't know the exact point at which I fell asleep. Hell, I don't even know if I had fallen asleep or simply passed out from all the turbulent emotions and stress. But suddenly Renee's soft voice was calling me back to the land of living. I slowly opened my eyes and saw it was already dark outside.

Finally I tuned in to my mother's words, "Bella? Baby? Can you get up? I need you to wash up and get dressed. Do you need me to help you with your makeup?"

I was still feeling bitter and so gave her a stink eye before saying, "Mom, why on earth will I put on makeup? They are coming to meet me, right?" When she nodded I continued, "Then I'm gonna give them a chance to see the _real_ me- without a fake layer of plaster smearing my face."

My mom being the dumbest person on the face of earth didn't get my heavy sarcasm and replied, "But honey, don't you want to look nice when you meet your future in-laws?" This time I decided to forgo the sarcasm and simply said, "No, Mom, do you think I'm gonna wear makeup every time they see me in the future? They should see my _albino-self_ before…"_ yeah… I am a sarcastic bitch so I can't let go of the sarcasm for too long_… however, I couldn't bring myself to use the M-word yet so I continued, "… umm… before _it_ happens?"

Again, Renee Swan didn't catch the point and stated the obvious, "Oh, honey! You are not an albino! Don't let any mean girls at work get to you. Anyway get ready because they'll be here within an hour." With that she left and I heaved a sigh. _So much for my sarcastic self!_

It was times like these I really missed my best friend, Rosalie. She was the only one bright enough (or bitchy enough… depending on how you look) to get my sarcasms. Then out of the blue a thought crossed my mind... _I wonder if Edward will get my sarcasm!_ The very next minute I flipped out for thinking about _him_. I mean, it wasn't like I was gonna have lengthy conversations with _him_! He was just gonna be my new housemate.

I shook thoughts of the shadowy figure I was envisioning Edward as and hopped quickly in the shower. Then I changed to a forest-green T-shirt and a pair of black jeans and I was ready. _If they truly wanted me then they will have to make do with the _real_ me_. I dried my hair and pulled it in a high ponytail as was my usual style.

Just as I had put down the hair brush, the door bell rang. _Looks like the in-laws are in the house!_ Soon enough I heard my mom calling for me. _Damn, I hadn't had the time to properly hyperventilate yet_! Telling myself to calm down I went to meet the family of Edward Cullen- _public enemy number one… at least for now_.

As I walked down the stairs, I heard my dad laughing and talking loudly. That was weird! I had never heard him talk so… freely to anyone who wasn't Billy. Charlie was shy of social interactions just like me. _That's interesting… may be Dr. Cullen _(Carlisle Cullen… not what's-his-face Cullen)was_ a good friend of his after all_. As soon as the thought crossed my mind my subconscious decided to join my inner monologue… _That's why they want a loser like you, dumbass!_ I guess my subconscious is kinda bitchy as well.

Just as I stepped on the landing all conversations stopped and five pairs of eyes were all focused on me. _Great! Here's to all the attentions dedicated to the bride!_

I tried to rein-in my inner sarcastic bitch and looked up at the visitors. I felt the instant heat of my blush covering my cheeks from all the staring. Before I could convince myself to turn around and run for the hills I met my dad's eyes. He gave me a half-smile, trying to encourage me to fully enter the living room. However, beside him my mom was gaping at me. I was sure she had some issues with my choice of wardrobe but honestly, what did she expect me to wear? A freaking cocktail dress with stilettos or something?

I decided to ignore my mom for now and turned my attention to the three strangers. The man looked about same age as dad. He had short blond hair and blue eyes. Though he was good looking, I hoped _Edward_ wasn't blond! I am not a racist or anything but blond guys were the dumbest!** (A/N: Not intended as an insult to anyone with blond hair.)** I am just speaking from first hand experiences with one Jasper Hale!

Beside the man was a very pretty woman who had the kindest of faces. She had reddish hair which seemed to have slight brown in it and forest-green eyes.

Finally I focused on the third person- _the sister_- I figured. She looked to be a few years younger than me and was one of the most beautiful women I'd even seen- aside from Rose of course. She looked quite shorter than me. She had short jet black hair which was artfully spiked, hazel eyes and a _huge_ smile plastered on her face.

What caught me off guard was how pretty they all were. If the Gods of genetics favored then it looked like I was gonna marry a pretty boy! I just hoped he wasn't blond!

After several moments of staring back and forth, Mom was the first one to break the silence. She jumped off her seat and took my hand saying, "Come, Sweetie, meet our friends. That's Carlisle… Edward's father…" she gestured with her hand and Dr. Cullen gave me a kind smile. After I smiled back politely he asked, "How are you, Isabella? It's nice to see you outside of hospital or more specifically the ER."

I could _not_ let that pass and replied with a petulant tone, "I'm fine, Dr. Cullen. But if you come to Seattle, I'll show you how well I fare _inside_ a hospital _now_, even in the_ ER_." He laughed at that and I smiled already liking the dad. _Finally…someone with a sense of humor!_

Mom then looked at the woman in the middle and continued with the introductions, "That's Esme, Carlisle's wife, Edward's mother and my best friend. She's an interior designer." Hearing the part about the _best friend_ shocked me. Esme did _not_ look like she had anything common with Renee. Don't get me wrong. I love my mom but Esme… she looked like the epitome of how a perfect, loving and caring mom should be!

Esme seemed to sense the line of my thoughts and smiled, "Isabella, your mother and I have been best friends since middle school. We were there for each other when a person most needs a friend. Friendships like that are far more important than common interests. It is so good to see you after all these years, dear." I instantly liked her. Honestly, how could you _not_ love such a caring person? Esme's words made me think of my friendship with Rose. We were polar opposites on the outsides but on the inside we were thicker than twins.

Before mom could make the final introduction, the sister, who looked like she was about to burst from suppressed energy, jumped to her feet and wrapped me up in a tight hug! Then she was talking at the speed of about 100miles per hour, "Hi, Isabella! I'm Alice, Edward's sister and your future sister! We are gonna have so much fun together!" She seemed to be unaware of the fact that she was choking me.

I gasped, "Hi, Alice! I can't breathe, Alice!" She immediately released me from the choke-hold but kept hanging on to my arm and said, "Oh! I am so sorry! I tend to get hyperactive sometimes." _I bet that _sometimes _happens a lot!_ However, in Alice's defense she _did_ look sorry. I couldn't stand her sad puppy face and hugged her back saying, "It's nice to meet you, Alice." She squealed and beamed at me.

So far, I liked the father, adored the mother and had a hunch that I was going to become good friends with the sister, I just hoped the guy… _Edward_… was even tolerable. _That's not too much to ask, right?_

As we sat down to our pizza dinner with the Cullens, sans the important one, I saw two families bonding. Dad looked really happy to see his friend back after all these years._ I hope he replaces Billy with Carlisle. Then I'll _never_ have to see that _dog_, Jacob, ever again._

I shook my head to get the traitor out of my head and looked on. Renee, Esme and Alice were talking excitedly about wedding gowns, bridesmaids, hair-dos, color schemes and what not. They looked like three kids trapped inside Disneyland for the whole weekend!

I smiled thinking how happy a simple 'Yes' from me has made all these people. Suddenly Alice looked up at me and smiled evilly. _Oh-o… I do not like the look on that girl's face!_ It looked like I was in trouble.

**A/N: Sorry for the long-ass A/N on the top but I felt it was necessary to explain where I was going with this story. But I promise I won't leave such huge author's notes often.**

**Thank you for reading. It means a great deal to me to read that you think so... leave a review, please?**


	6. Chapter 6: Pixie Inquisition

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: I wouldn't bore you guys with too much yapping. I just wanna thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert and simply... read OTC. Your support means a lot to me. So... enjoy Chapter-6! :-)**

**Chapter-6: Pixie Inquisition**

After dinner everyone went back to the living room with drinks in hands and as I made to follow, Alice grabbed my arm. I looked back at her and asked, "What is it, Alice?" Alice gave me a _too_ innocent smile- making me feel the invisible short horns and pointed tail- and said, "I have _so_ much to talk to you about! Can we go up to your room for some time? So that we won't be overheard by our parents…" I narrowed my eyes but immediately chastised myself for suspecting her without any reasons. So I nodded in assent and led the way to my room all the while trying to remember if I left a huge mess there or not.

Once inside, I sighed with relief because the room was not _that_ messy. I mean my room in Seattle is _way_ messier than this. I offered Alice the bean bag and sat on the bed. However, Alice didn't take a seat. Instead she looked around the room making me feel self-conscious then beamed at me before crossing the room to sit on the bed, facing me.

First Alice didn't say anything. She just had an amused look on her face all the while taking in every smallest details of my room. When I couldn't handle the silence I had to ask her, "What's so funny, Alice? This room here shows _me_…just the way I am. That's what you guys wanted to see when you came to meet me, right?"

Alice sobered up instantly and shook her head vehemently while saying, "No, no, Isabella. I was smiling because you haven't even met Edward yet but you two are so much alike. Oh, by the way, call me _Allie; Alice_ was my grandma."

I was taken aback by her way of thinking. _Damn! Here I was thinking we could be friends! But why does she think _us_ alike?_ My mind was screaming at the top of its voice and I was agreeing with it. I mean it wasn't like I looked like a guy or anything. I may not flaunt it but I did have the necessary curves at the right places!

Before I could voice my shock Alice seemed to catch on my line of thinking and started to shake her head again._ If she keeps doing that a bit faster she'd make a quite pretty bobble head! _ It seemed like my bitchy side was trying to emerge.

She was however interrupted by Alice's quick reply, "Oh God! Isabella I'm so sorry I didn't make myself clearer. What I meant was that your sense of humor, shyness and choice of music- all of it- match Edward perfectly. It's like you were made especially just for my brother! Don't you think for one second that you aren't pretty because you are! You are one of the prettiest girls I've met and you two will make the cutest couple _ever_!"

"Hey, breathe, Alice!" I decided to step in to give her a breather, offering her a half smile, "You know, _Allie_, I prefer to have my _friends_ call me _Bella_." I know I chose to ignore her rant about being the perfect match for _Edward Cullen_ and being part of the _cutest couple ever_ but I honestly didn't know what to say about it. _And you're also a coward!_ My subconscious snapped at me. But I didn't have to worry about it because Alice seemed to forget about my deliberate diversion already. Instead she gave another squeal and hugged me again saying, "OMG! I just _knew_ it! We're gonna be best friends!" I know I had Rosalie as my best friend but figured it would be nice to have another girlfriend. So I hugged her back without raining on her parade.

Alice let me go and then looked at me nervously. I guessed it was time to find out what she wanted to talk about. But her uncomfortable expression told me one thing- whatever it was, it was _bad_!

"Bella, Edward wants me to talk to you on his behalf before we go ahead with the wedding…" Alice started.

However, I had to get _my_ answers before giving any answers myself so I interrupted her, "Alice, I'm not trying to offend you or your brother. But I _have_ to ask… what is _wrong_ with him? I mean as far as I've heard he's a doctor, from quite well-to-do family, young, and by judging your parents and yourself, he should be fairly good-looking as well. So why couldn't _he_ find a girl for himself? Why would he want an _arranged marriage_? Is he like…_gay_, or something? Is that why your parents want him to get married so that no one suspects him of it?" I finished, out of breath.

By this time Alice was openly giggling. After a few minutes she controlled herself enough to say, "No, Bella, my brother is _totally_ straight. He's just had a real bad experience with dating in the past." Her face turned into a mask of anger as she continued, "See, there was this one girl he went out with for about two months when he caught her cheating on him. I'll not go into details because it's not my story to tell. But know this, we all _hated_ that _bitch_. She might have been good looking but had a heart of _frigging_ stone. You do _not_ need to feel threatened by her. _We_… as in my parents and me, already love you. You are hundred times prettier than she could ever dream to be. And trust me, on your wedding day; one week from now, when my brother finally sees you, he'll not know what hit him! He'll _adore_ you, Bella."

When she stopped to take a breath I felt tears stinging my eyes. _Damn that girl could be sweet when not trying!_ I said in a shaky voice, "I don't know about your brother, Allie. But I do like the rest of you guys a lot. I'm glad that I'll have you as my new family." Alice got teary eyed as well and hugged me yet again.

A few minutes later she took my hand and said in a quiet voice, "Bella, my brother is a good guy. He may come across as arrogant to outsiders but in reality he's just shy. He's never dated anyone else because he was afraid to get hurt again. It was a blow to his ego. Don't think he still has feelings for _her_ or anything. I can promise to you that he'll be a complete gentleman to you. Just don't hurt him." I didn't know what to say to her after that so I just nodded. Because frankly the idea of me- non-dater, never been kissed properly, virgin Bella- hurting a guy was practically laughable.

Suddenly Alice seemed to snap out of her somber mood and went all business-like asking, "Well, Bella, you got your answers. Now can I go ahead with my questions?" I nodded because other questions I had I would have to ask _him_ personally. _Yea, Doofus, like he's gonna tell you why his ex cheated on him!_ I shook off my inner bitch and got ready to face the pixie version of Spanish Inquisition.

Taking a deep breath Alice started, "Okay! Edward was wondering if you have a boyfriend or anything. Basically, I think he just doesn't get how a _total babe_ like you would agree to an arranged marriage. You are not being forced into it or anything, right?" From her expression I could tell she was holding her breath to hear my reply.

I shook my head slowly and reply her quietly, "No, Alice, I don't have a boyfriend and _believe_ me, I am _not_ the one who can be forced into anything, let alone something like marriage. I said _yes_ because, I've decided to trust my dad. I know how fiercely protective he is of me. So if he deems your brother worthy of his trust then I guess I can give him a chance as well. Actually, I've never even had a boyfriend and by now I've outgrown my regency romance fantasy world. I've pretty much given up on falling in love because it doesn't happen to most people. So in that case an arranged marriage is my best shot I guess."

Alice looked amused by my rambling and gave me a smile that said she had a secret that she was not gonna share with me. As I caught my breath after my rant, she said quietly, "I don't think love is out of the equation for you just _yet_, Bella." I frowned at that. _What does the girl think is going to happen? I'll meet her brother and just magically fall in love with him? Yeah! Not gonna happen, Dude!_ That reminded me of another thing I wanted to clear up, "Alice, I need you to pass on a request from me to Edward. Can you please do it? And don't tell your parents about it."

She just raised her eyebrow and nodded for me to continue. I had made up my mind. It was a fair request. So I continued before I could chicken out, "Look, Alice, I'm sure Edward is a great guy but he's a stranger to me. I know we won't be strangers for long but I don't think I'll feel comfortable sharing a… _room_ with a guy I didn't even know existed before this morning. So, all I ask for is a separate room." Alice started to open her mouth but I stopped her, "It's just for now. I'm sure once we get comfortable around each other, we can… _re-evaluate_ the arrangement. Please, _Allie_, try to place yourself in my shoes and think of what would you want." I tried to imitate the sad puppy look she had given me a few minutes ago.

It seemed to work on her. Either that or hearing me call her _Allie_, softened her and she said, "Okay, Bella. If that's what you want but believe me you two are like _custom-made_ for each other. You'll see." I scoffed but she paid me no attention and went on to her next point, "So, bridesmaids? Do you want me to be one?" Even though she looked all business but I could detect the hope in her voice.

However, as my best friend the first right belonged to Rose. I couldn't deny this to her. So I said, "Well, I guess I'm gonna need _two_ bridesmaids. You and my friend, Rosalie." Alice squealed at this. _Seriously what's with the squealing?_ When she managed to calm down she rushed on, "Oh! Bella, it's gonna be the most perfect wedding. We're going to pick you and Renee up tomorrow morning. Then we'll go for dress shopping, alright?" _Whoa! Wedding Nazi alert!_

I had to stop her before she went overboard so I quickly said, "Listen, Allie, I'd _really_ love to go but I have work on Monday so…" Alice smiled and stopped my escape planning by saying, "That's why we're going to Seattle for shopping, Silly! Renee already told us about your aversion to shopping. So, while you stay at Seattle and work, we're gonna take care of _everything_. Tomorrow we'll meet your friend and then shop for our dresses. After _the_ dress is taken care of we'll drop you off to your place and the rest will be taken care of from Forks and Port Angeles. Now, do you have any theme planned or want anything special?" I gave an unladylike snort of laughter at her question.

When she frowned, I quickly explained, "Allie, before today marriage wasn't even in the radar for me, you know? It was something I knew I'd have to go through someday but I never really thought about it. So, do what you see fit, ok?" Alice nodded and then gasped, "Oh! Bella, I almost forgot. Edward asked me to apologize to you because there's not going to be a honeymoon right away. You see he starts a new job next Monday so he can't take time off now. But he promises that he'll take you on a honeymoon once he gets settled in."

I stared at her for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. When I managed to control myself I said, "Alice, honestly, I don't even _know_ the guy. What are we going to do on a honeymoon? Play checkers?" Alice joined in my humor then, setting me off again. After a few minutes I stopped to breathe and added, "Tell him not to worry about it. I don't want a honeymoon right away. So he's excused."

Alice nodded and then looking at the time said in an unmistakably sad voice, "Well, I guess it's time to leave now. I love you already, Bella. You're gonna be the best sister ever!" I smile at her and give her a hug _willingly,_ saying, "I don't know about me, but you really are a good sister, Allie, to both Edward and to me. Thank you."

When we join others downstairs Carlisle and Esme are standing by the door exchanging goodbyes with my parents. They both smiled at me and Esme pulled me in a gentle hug. Alice waved at me from the doorstep saying, "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, Bella."

After the Cullens left, I faced my parents and gave them a slight nod to show that I was okay. And I _was_ okay. I liked the parents. I loved the sister- weirdly enough. The only thought nagging at me was just how Dr. Edward Cullen was going to turn out to be.

**A/N: So... that was chapter-6. Thoughts? Please leave me your thoughts in reviews they make me wanna type faster just to hear from you guys.**

**Take care! :-)**


	7. Chapter 7: Emergency Best Friend News Al

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters. Nor do I own Matt Bomer... unfortunately... :-(**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you. Now you get to meet one of my favorite characters in OTC! ;-)**

** Enjoy Chapter-7 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-7: Emergency Best Friend News Alert**

**BPOV**

As I was about to slip into bed for the night, realization hit me. If we were to go shopping tomorrow morning then I had to tell Rose about all this shit… _Tonight!_

"_Damn it all! Rose is gonna be MAD! She'd have my head for agreeing to such an arrangement without giving it much thought"_; was my first thought. I was about to put down my cell phone when my heart said, "_She deserves to know. She has always been there for you. Rose is not just your best friend, she's your sister from another mother and you know you'd suffocate trying to keep it all in yourself. You simply _cannot_ keep something like from Rosalie._"

My bitchy conscience was right. So trembling in fear of **Rosalie Hale Hailstorm** I dialed my best friend's number. I knew she'd be home tonight because Jasper said he was gonna hangout with his geeky friends and Rose doesn't bar-hop alone. I mentally schooled myself about how to broach the subject.

However, the moment Rose picked up the phone I had forgotten my carefully prepared statement. Instead I started lamely, "Hey Rose, you home?"

She sounded like she was slightly sleepy as she answered, "Bells? Yeah, I'm home. Watching re-runs of White Collar."

I couldn't figure out what to say and went with the first thing that popped in my head, "Oh! Great! Too bad Matt Bomer is gay, huh?" **(A/N: Not intended as an insult to homosexual people. I still love Matt! ;-))**_ Damn! I just amped up the lameness!_ Being the close friend that she is Rose caught on with my crazy.

Her tone went from sleepy to serious and completely alert within seconds as she asked sternly, "Okay, Bella, what's up? I _know_ you didn't call me to talk about Matt Bomer's sexual orientation, who by the way is _still_ a super hot eye-candy, gay or otherwise. Why are you shitting yourself for talking to me? Wait, did you hook up with that _dog_, Jacob, when you got there? C'mon dude, you deserve W-A-Y better than that stupid lying piece of shit!"

Ah! There it was! The start of the Halestorm! I relaxed immediately. Because marrying a doctor would be the lesser evil to Rose if she's worried about me hooking up with Jake _fucking_ Black of all people! I quickly categorized what to reply to her and started with my news breaking, "Rose! Breath! Firstly, it's _not_ and _never_ gonna be Jacob. Ew. You know I have better taste! Secondly, _dude_? Seriously? You are hanging out with Jazz way too much. Thirdly, I did not _hook up_ with anyone. Not in literal sense anyway. More like… _hitched_?" The last part came out as a question.

I waited for her to catch my hidden phrasing. Then she gasped and said, "Wait, _hitched_? That's what the urgent phone calls were for? Charlie and Renee want you to get married?" I was shocked at the absence of cursing and yelling in her voice and mumbled in reply, "Well… yeah…"

Rose gave a small peal of laughter and said in an amused tone, "Tell them that in order to get married you need a _groom_. And you are not even dating anyone right now! Duh! That's why you are so scared, Izzie? You are such a _chicken_!"

She knew me too well. I _was_ a chicken. So instead of making the situation clearer to her I diverted the conversation saying, "Izzie? Is that my nickname right now?"

"Yup", she replied, popping the 'P' and then continued, "But you didn't answer my question. What is it that you are scared of? Surely you would have come up with that argument by yourself."

I mentally prepared myself to endure her second round of fury and stammered the answer, "Rose, see… the thing is… they already kind of have a guy. It's sort of an… arranged thing." And then all hell broke lose…

"WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY? ARE YOUR PARENTS CRAZY? WHO THE FUCK IS THIS STIFF? YOU ARE _NOT_ A LOSER, ISABELLA MARIE!"

Just as she stopped to draw breath I quickly ploughed on to shut her up, "Hey! What are you middle naming me for, Rosalie Lilian? You know, I'm not Rosalie Hale. So by the time I find someone, which I won't, I'll be like 40… at the least."

My answer calmed her down a _bit_ and she sadly replied in a much more tolerable decibel, "You don't see yourself clearly, you know. Anyway, tell me _everything_ about the lucky bastard! NOW!"

I tried to cool her off some more by saying, "Calm down, Rose. I don't know a lot myself. He's 25, a doctor. Born in Forks but grew up in England. Super good looking family. Only had one girlfriend, who apparently cheated on him. That's the reason he doesn't date anymore. Oh… and… the wedding's on next Saturday."

Rose was silent for a few minutes, processing it all. The she spoke, "Well, he doesn't sound like a total jerk, _yet_. But what's the rush with the wedding? Where does he stay? Oh God! Are you gonna have to move to _England_?" I shook my head at her stupidity and tried to soothe her worries.

"Hey, Hale! Relax, will ya? He lives in Seattle. So I'm not gonna be out of your hair that easily. And Alice, his sister, said he's about to start a new job on next Monday. So he wants to get it all done and over with before starting."

Rose finally breathed in relief and said, "O-kay. What about the wedding arrangements? There are a _lot_ of preparations in a wedding."

I snorted at her question and snarked, "Yeah, no shit, Sherlock! Our families are gonna go through all the arrangement stuff. Tomorrow, we're gonna go to Seattle. You'll get a chance to meet his mom and sister. Then we'll go dress-shopping." Then I added softly, "Rose? I know you're mad. But will you still be my Maid of Honor? Please, Rose?"

Rose cleared her throat and then said, "Urgh! _Of course_ I'm mad. My best friend leaves me for a day and suddenly she's engaged or betrothed, I guess, to some mystery doctor. And I'm short one roommate now! But that doesn't mean I'll give up my _right_! I'm gonna be your Maid of Honor. Fucking try and stop me if you dare!"

I gave a choked laugh and said softly, "I love you, Rose. You are the sister God forgot to give me."

Rose's voice told me she was getting a bit teary eyed herself when she said, "Ya, yea, I know. I am your evil-twin. Now shut up and go to beddy-bye land. You're interrupting my date with Neal Caffrey. See ya tomorrow."

I was about to disconnect when she called my name. I put the phone back to my ear and heard her soft yet concerned voice, "Izzie, are you okay with this? If you're not 100 percent sure about it don't go through with it. I'll handle your parents if I have to."

I sighed before answering, "I'm… well, I'm sort of numb right now. But given the fact that I'm already 23 and yet to have _one_ boyfriend and don't have much time to go on dates, I guess it's not that bad of a deal. Besides, if anything goes bad I can blame my parents for it." I ended my speech with my attempt at a lame joke.

Rose whispered a soft '_okay_' before wishing me sweet dreams and hanging up.

Finally feeling weightless and free of any thoughts, I drifted off to sleep.

**EPOV**

_"Again with the bloody ringing!"_, I mentally cursed modern technology as I dragged my feet to the living room where I had left my stupid cell phone. I was dog tired what with moving shit all day. Thank god I had Emmett to help me out; otherwise I would have seriously injured my spine. As the ringing continued, I considered letting the call go to voice mail, for a second. Then I remembered that Allie was supposed to call after meeting _her_.

So I took the call and grunted a hello to my little sister.

"_God! Ed! You're _sooo_ grumpy!_", a typical Alice hello for me.

"Well, I have sunshine as my little sister. So I guess we balance each other out." My answer earned me a peal of tinkling laughter from Alice. Then she continued in a happy voice…

"_Oh, Ed! She's so pretty! We all love her already! You two are gonna be _perfect_ for each other. She's smart, intelligent and has a good sense of humor. She knows all about the arrangement and has agreed to marry your grumpy ass all by herself without being forced. We're going to shop for the wedding dress tomorrow! I can hardly wait to call her my _sister_!_" Finally, as she stopped to take a breath I decided to go for the key question.

"Allie, is she vain? You know like… Tanya?" I _had_ to ask this. I didn't care if she looked like a fucking troll but I _did not_ want a vain wife.

"_No, silly, trust me. Once you get to know her, you're gonna _adore_ her._" I could practically see her shaking her head at my stupid question. But then her tone became somber as she continued, "However,_ Ed, there's a catch._"

"What? Is she blond or gay or something?" I panicked at her serious manner. I don't know about the blond part though… I guess Tanya has put me on edge from anyone blond!

"_SERIOUSLY! STOP WITH THE FREAKING GAY QUESTION! YOU'RE BOTH SINGLE, GOOD LOOKING AND BOTH STRAIGHT PEOPLE! GOT IT? IF ANYONE ASKS ME THE SAME THING ONE MORE TIME I'M GONNA SLAUGHTER THEM!_" Alice just erupted like molten lava! I guess Isabella also had similar question about me! I tried to resist the urge to laugh at that thought and tried to calm my hyper sister.

"Allie, calm down. Ignore me. What was the catch you were talking about?" She took a few deep breaths and when she answered me her voice was serious sans the yelling.

"_Well, she wants a separate bedroom… _for now_. The thing is, since you two don't know each other, she's uncomfortable in sharing her personal space… _yet." As I heard her stress the part indicating this as a temporary issue, I relaxed.

"That's it? Allie, I've already started preparing one of the guest bedrooms for her. Tell her not to worry about it." I grinned at my brilliant foresight!

"_Wow! My big bro is so sensitive! Yeah… that's about it. Mom and I are coming to Seattle tomorrow. After dropping Isabella off at her place we'll visit you. Mom's gonna come back with Renee and I'll stay till Monday to help you out with decorating her room and closet, okay? Oh! And Ed… she's _brunette!" "_Thank god, she's not a lousy _Blondie", was my first thought. **(A/N: Not intended as an insult to blond people.)**

"Thanks for this, Allie. See you tomorrow then!" I was scared of her asking me to explain the _blond_ part. But thankfully she let it slide.

"_Bye, Ed. Take care. Love you, bro._"

"Love you too, Allie. Bye."

After disconnecting the call I started to take inventory of the facts I knew about my bride-to-be… or was she my fiancée? It was confusing since I didn't get down on my knee and proposed to her myself…

According to Alice, Isabella Swan was a 23 yrs old, pretty brunette. She's _not_ vain and _not_ gay. And, she wanted her personal bedroom for now. Well, that doesn't sound so scary. Now I had to see her in person to decide if that's all true or not.

Before going to bed I had one more thing to take care of. I had to call my cousin and best friend, Emmett, and let him know his _kid_ brother was getting married and he was the lucky man chosen as the _Best Man_!

When Emmett heard the reason for my calling him, he was furious, with me and with mom. Apparently _we_ had hidden a fact so important from him which might cause a threat to national security! Because according to his _brilliant_ logic, taking my _pretty _self off the market permanently could start a civil war which may in turn, lead to the start of WWIII!

After I successfully convinced him that it was for the best and it's something that would make mom happy he finally decided to be merciful and pardoned us- namely me. 'Cause he'd _never_ have the guts to seek revenge from mom as she's the one who made the _world's best chocolate chip cookies!_

Then Emmett got started on the bachelor party stuff. I stopped him at the beginning by informing him that I will not go to any strip club. He whined, bullied, threatened, and finally begged me saying that strip club was _the_ best part of bachelor party. But there was _no way_ I was going to a strip club… _ever!_

Finally as peace offering, we decided to check out the bar near my new work place on Wednesday night to celebrate the ending of my single days. It offered booze and music for me and plenty of women to hit on for Em. So it was a win-win.

Satisfied with my victory in reigning Emmett in, I went to sleep where faceless brunette women weirdly dressed as protagonists of Jane Austen novels haunted my nightmares!

**A/N: Thanks for reading! To clear up a few things- firstly, many of you had problems with Alice. I tried to preserve the integrities of the characters SM created in my story setting. So yeah, Alice is a bit... okay A LOT exuberant and sometimes bordering on annoying. But she still loves his brother and is looking out for him. As for stopping her- both E & B has lots of issues to get straight. And things need to get bad before they can get better. Trust me. I'm all about HEA.**

**Secondly, I love the Rose in OTC. She's a bit overprotective, loyal and quite confident. So please don't hate on her.**

**Thirdly, OTC has hit 50 reviews and over 6.5K hits! I'm so happy guys! Thank you!**

**Fourthly, now make me happier and review, please?**

**Take Care. :-)**


	8. Chapter 8: Preparations for Doomsday!

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you. **

**Enjoy Chapter-8 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-8: Preparations for Doomsday!**

The next morning Alice woke me up bright and early, and I mean_ early_; as in 6.45 **a.m.** early! I was shocked and a little scared to see how _chirpy_ she could be in crack of dawn! It was like she was pumped up from consuming 100 _fucking_ Redbulls or some shit. For a non-morning person, namely me, she was like the Anti-Christ to my sleeping beauty!

"_If Aurora had an Alice with her she wouldn't have had to sleep for years waiting for a fucking stranger to kiss her awake!,_" I mentally cursed Alice as well as Charlie for waking up ass-crack of dawn to open the stupid front door for the Nazi.

Because of that awfully early-rising pixie, who didn't seem to grasp the fact that some people liked to sleep-in the only off day they got (_Damn! I'm talking about myself in third person! That's sleep deprivation for me!_), we left for Seattle by 7.30 after a hasty breakfast and grunted goodbyes to Charlie.

After reaching Seattle, I texted Rosalie the address to the bridal stores the Nazi- Trio, namely my mom, Esme and Alice, had found from online browsing- so that she could meet us there directly.

When we reached the first store Rosalie was already standing there holding a Starbucks to-go cup of macchiato for me. _My only true friend in the whole wide world! Maybe I should advise Alice to take some pointers on being a good- or in this case, a sleep supporting- friend from Rose._ However all my inner fist-pumping for Rosalie quickly morphed into chagrin within the first hour of our shopping trip.

The day progressed with Reneé and Esme, the old best friends, exchanging smiles; Alice and Rosalie, the fashion-freaks, chatting happily while leading the group from one store to another; and finally me- following behind the happy people with another cup of macchiato in my hand while cursing under my breath.

After trying out what seemed like a million gowns in six stores, Alice finally announced that we had found _The Dress_. Not being into dresses, all I could say was that it was white, it wasn't too lacey or frilly, it made me feel pretty, it made me look curvy and I loved the feel of the material on my skin as it was non-scratchy. So it was good enough for me.

While Reneé and Esme went to get the dress wrapped up, we found my matching veil and shoes and Alice and Rose's bridesmaids' dresses of Lavender color. When the _proud mothers_ came back after paying they proposed to take us all out for lunch in the little café across the street.

After escaping the bridal horror show, sitting down for lunch felt too good for my tired as hell feet. As I sat down muttering to my sore feet to hold on for a bit longer I looked at my best friend. For some weird reason snarky Rose and bubbly Alice had bonded instantly. I guess fashion sense was a plus point in the book of friendship for both of them!

During lunch we planned the following days up to the wedding; and by _we_, I mean Reneé, Esme, Alice and Rosalie. _Looks like the Nazi- Trio has just had recruited my best friend as the promising Nazi-to-be! Big whoop!_ They sat and discussed me like I wasn't even there!

Anyway in said discussion it was decided that Rose and I will take Thursday and Friday off. We were to leave Seattle on Thursday and Friday will be a spa day where my mother had already invited Mrs. Hale, Rose's mom as well. _The Nazis are expanding faster, Man!_ I felt like pounding my head against the table.

The only thing I demanded to have a say in was that I _would not have a bachelorette party!_ Alice tried to give me her puppy dog eyes while Rose tried to intimidate me into submission but it was Esme who stepped in time to save me by saying that the _bride _would under _no circumstances_ be forced to do anything she didn't approve of. She would _not_ have me upset over such silly things. In that moment, I truly felt blessed to have a mother-in-law like Esme. _Maybe she was not a total Nazi… a Nazi Ally maybe?_

**-OTC-**

Around 5 in the evening, the wedding Nazis dropped Rose and me back at our apartment. We invited them upstairs but Esme declined saying that she was supposed to meet her son.

Before leaving she hugged me close and whispered, "I cannot tell you how happy I am. I have dreamt of having you as my daughter since the day you came into this world. Thank you, darling child. You are the best thing that is gonna happen to my Edward. I love you as my own daughter."

Hearing her heartfelt words I felt tears stinging the back of my eyes and my brain shut off so I couldn't think of any proper reply. So I did what I usually do in such cases- crack a lame joke, "At least I won't have to worry about getting along with my in-laws! That's a good thing, right?"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth I wanted to staple my lips together as a precaution for preventing any future chances of _brain-mouth-filter_ loss on my part. Esme, however, didn't look at me as the stupid ass I was feeling like. Rather, she laughed in her good-humored way and let the others say their goodbyes.

That night before going to bed, Rosalie acquiesced that after meeting Esme and Alice Cullen, Edward Cullen _did not_ seem to be the _stiff_ she thought at first. And for once in my life I prayed whole-heartedly that Rosalie Hale was right.

The next morning we both went to our in-charge Chief Pharmacist, Mr. Eleazar Montgomery, and applied for a leave of absence due to '_being required to attend a family function'_. I don't know why I didn't tell him about getting married, or any of my coworkers for that matter, I guess I was still not sure I was getting married in less than a week!

Mr. Montgomery, being a nice man, granted our request and wished us to have fun. "_Well, easy for you to say, buddy. You aren't the one who's being stuffed in a white gown and exchanging vows for eternal companionship with a _fucking stranger_!_" my inner bitch was still sulking from the news of my wedding.

Just as I was about to leave his office, Mr. Montgomery called me back and said with a encouraging smile on his face, "Ms. Swan, from next Monday you will be appointed to the neurology ward. You will be working with our new neurologist. From what I have heard of him, the guy sounds like an absolute genius. I hope you'll enjoy working with him seeing that neuro-medicine was your major?"

I smiled gratefully and replied, "Of course, Mr. Montgomery. I always wanted to help people with neurogenic disorders. I'm sure it will be an honor to work alongside our new doctor and I will get to learn many new things from him as well." I left his office in a considerably brighter mood seeing I would finally get the chance to work where I was meant to be.

That's how by the end of Monday, I found myself having most of my wedding stuff bought and leave arranged. Looked like maybe, _just maybe_, I was going to be married by the same time next week.

**EPOV**

Reneé Swan was quite a good-looking woman. So, hoping that her daughter would not be a complete _troll _was _probably_ not too much to ask.

After dining with me and Emmett, my mother and Reneé left to go back to Forks. Then I took Alice to see the room I wanted to give to Isabella. I had only have enough time to color a spare bedroom with a soft violet color, which surprisingly, Allie approved of!

The reason I chose the color was a bit selfish. First I thought pink would be a safer choice. _'Cause you know all girls like pink, right?_ However, I could not think of my future _wife_ as a typical girly-girl. After talking to Alice about Isabella last night, I thought if _she_ seemed even a bit suited for me as Alice swore, she'd probably not have a _pink fetish_… unlike my sister! So, I figured, "_What the hell, I'd color it violet, it's a bit feminine but not overly girly. And I do want a feminine wife… otherwise I'd be batting for the other team. So violet it is!_"

Due to the magic pixie that was my little sister, by next day the room was hardly recognizable. It had a queen-sized bed, a _large_, arguably huge, walk-in-closet which Alice stocked up with everything from sweats to long floor-length gowns, and a huge-ass book shelf already one quarter filled with books that Allie thought _she_ would like. When I had the opportunity I perused to find it to be mostly romance novels and free of Cosmo or any other stupid shit I saw my sister read. "_Romance I can deal with… as long as Isabella is not a Cosmo wielding woman obsessing over that magazine!_" was my first thought.

All in all, by bed time on Monday I was _almost_ ready to welcome a complete stranger… a female one at that… in my life through holy and binding promise of matrimony. _Terrific!_

**A/N: Thanks for reading. I know it's a lot shorter than the previous one but this was more of a filler chapter. The next chapter is already in progress and I can tell you this... it's coming along just how I was hoping. So I think Chapter-9 would be about double the length of 8, now don't hate me for this short chapter?**

**I know you guys are dying to see them meet and so am I. It's just round the corner. That's all I can say to you for now. Have a little patience, please.**

**One more thing, I have been getting many guest reviews but because I don't know who you are I can't reply to you guys. Please sign in before reviewing so that I can reach out to you. :-)**

**Now I made you happy with the update... so make me happy and review, please?**


	9. Chapter 9: Strike One

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you. Now you get what you all have been waiting for...**

**Enjoy Chapter-9 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-9: Strike One**

**BPOV**

I did not tell anybody at the hospital about my impending doom… I mean marriage. Because, at the back of my mind, I was scared to death (or may be just faint… c'mon death's not _that_ easy!) that I'd be left at the altar on the day of!

_Let's face it, being rejected by a stranger on the eve of marriage is bad enough without making a public spectacle of yourself, right?_ That's how I justified my decision anyway.

On Wednesday, Rosalie kidnapped or what she preferred to call _Bella-napped_ me and dragged me to Joe's for celebrating the end of my boring bachelorette days. We were a party of two! Sorriest bachelorette party ever, I know! But if there was one person in the world I would like to pass my time with in drinking that would most definitely be Rosalie Hale, my best friend.

But at the moment I was so not feeling the sisterly love for that girl.

"Seriously, Rose, it's just a few drinks at Joe's. Why the fuck are you dolling me up?" I cuss when I get mad _or_ annoyed. And at the moment, I was not _just_ annoyed or _just_ mad. I was annoyed _and_ mad. In fact, I was fuming.

Rose had forced me to put on a black halter-neck, knee length dress. My hair was styled as a combination of a ponytail and a knot. I had _freaking_ blue eye shadows and pink gloss on my lips for crying out loud! I didn't like eye shadows. A bit of mascara and eye liner was all I could take. So naturally I was thinking of ways to kill Rosalie Hale bare-handed! _Maybe I should call up Charlie for pointers on hiding the body?_

As if I hadn't said a thing, Rose simply motioned me towards the black strappy heels or _death traps_… depending on your perspective! When I continued to glare at her she gave me her patented withering look that said _I am so not listening to any more of your whining_.

"Shut your pie-hole, Swan! If I say wear 'em, you_ will_ wear 'em. It's my last chance to dress you up as a slut. From Saturday you won't just be my best friend; you'll be someone's wife. So, I won't get the chance to irritate you by dressing you up. So… zip it, Izzie!" _God! I hate that nickname!_

I huffed and said, "Rose, you _know_ when I'm standing next to you, I'll be _nowhere_ near the region of pretty. No one will even spare me a second glance." She just gave me another of her patented looks which meant, _you would be wise to drop the line of thought RIGHT NOW!_

May be seeing my sad pouty look she said, "I don't care if you look pretty for people or not. I am your Maid of Honor and you _will_ dress up even if just to appease me. And don't _ever_ talk in that self-degrading way. You are _my_ best friend. Of course you're beautiful- inside and out."

Seeing no other escape route I sighed signaling my acceptance of defeat and Rose gave me a smug smile.

At Joe's Rosalie ordered a few tequila shots for us and we downed them quickly. I was about to pick up my third shot when Rose grasped my hand and I groaned in pain. _If you haven't been pierced by her long-ass nails then you wouldn't understand just how painful it is!_ I casted a questioning look at her and saw that she was looking at something, mouth agape.

Following Rose's dumbfounded stare I saw a man… or more accurately… a wall of muscle with brown curly hair, gaping at Rosalie.

The guy was cute looking, I guess- if you got past all the muscle. However, I couldn't bother to concentrate enough on his cuteness. Because, my eyes got stuck on the man standing next to him.

He was lankier than the other one, but his face… his angular jaw, high cheek bones, perfectly arched eyebrows, straight nose… all made him look like the human model Michelangelo had used to sculpt the _David_!

He had the strangest hair color. It had red, brown and even some blond streaks in it… actually, it looked… _bronze_? "_Is that even a legal hair color?_" my subconscious was questioning my sanity, no doubt! But if I had to put a name to that color I would always name it bronze.

He wore a simple black button-down shirt with dark jeans. But these simple clothes made him look like the sexiest man alive! After checking him out from head to toe… or _hair to heels of his shoes_… I looked back at his face.

My gaze instantly got locked on intense emerald-green eyes. They were beautiful, mesmerizing, twinkling and… _cold_? As I blinked to take in his facial features again I saw that his whole face was contorted in… _disgust?_ And he was looking right at me!

I quickly looked down feeling my cheeks grow hot with my ever-present blush. "_How the hell could a complete stranger take such an instant dislike of me?"_ that was the question going around in my head.

**EPOV**

On Wednesday before going out with Emmett, I promised to myself that no matter how much booze Em forced me to drink; I _would not _hook up with any skanky bar-flies. I wanted to be faithful to my… _what was she_… fiancée, I guess! "_I may not know her yet but I trust my family. So, I will endeavor to be someone _she_ could trust"_ that's what I had promised myself.

Upon arriving at the hole-in-the-wall bar, we ordered a round of shots and started to down them immediately- I was determined to get drunk quickly so that Em would be satisfied to end the '_stag night'_ early and let me go back to my place.

I could feel stares on myself. I knew many women were giving me the mating look… or eye-fucking me… whatever you call it, just like they used to when I was in England. But I was Edward _fucking_ Cullen, a man of my word… a faithful husband-to-be. I was proud of my self-control but then… the door opened and… I was fucked!

In walked two women. One was blond, tall and leggy- everyman's dream. But her companion, a shorter girl who took a seat next to the blond was _the _epitome of female beauty!

She wore a black halter-neck knee length dress. Her white as snow skin and chocolate brown hair made her look like a brunette Aphrodite! I couldn't- for the life of me- stop my eyes from looking at her.

As her friend got busy eye-fucking my friend, the brunette looked over to see what her friend was looking at and then _she_ saw_ me_. Her eyes raked me from head to toe and I understood that she was checking me out, just like I was gaping like a moron at her!

Suddenly I saw her blush. Seeing her rosy cheeks I wondered what she was thinking about. Then another thought entered my mind, wondering just how much further her blush went. "_Whoa! Hold it, Cullen! Think about Isabella. Forget about this girl. Isabella is the one you should be thinking about."_ I mentally chastised myself.

But before I could school my thoughts she looked right into my eyes and I met my personal _Devil_!

Her eyes were like pools of molten chocolate. I found myself wishing I could drown in them. Then an infuriating thought came to me that knocked me back to my senses. "_Who the hell does she think she is? How dare she come here to make me break my resolve on the eve of my wedding? The answer is simple, she is the devil summoned from my own personal hell."_

As my temper rose my ogling stare turned to a full-on glare. _Why would a puny little girl make me feel like this- now of all time?_ I didn't know the answer to that but I already blamed her for my loss of control! She was no better than those women who had been eye-fucking me earlier. In fact, she was worse- because she made me look back at her; none of the others could do that.

I needed a real drink- right fucking now!

**BPOV**

"Rose! Rose! ROSALIE HALE! Snap out of it! Stop eye-fucking that _mountain_ or I swear I'll leave your sorry ass here and go back home… alone." I yell in Rosalie's ear over the music playing in the background after breaking eye contact with the sexy-haired guy.

"Huh?! Oh! Oh… yeah… okay. Then… umm… let's… yeah…let's drink something else then." I couldn't believe my ears hearing Rosalie Hale _stammer_! "_Surely something is happening! Since when does Rose, the epitome of perfection, stammer?"_ I silently mused.

When Rose made no move to get up I went to order our drinks myself. Joe, the owner of the bar, already knew us as regulars since our joining the hospital. Seeing me approach he smiled at me and I started to say, "Hey, Joe! A Cosmo for Rose and a Gin-and-Tonic…"

"A Gin-and-Tonic, please." A velvety smooth voice interrupted me. I looked over my shoulder to see the same emerald-green eyes up close. A fleeting look of surprise on his face is quickly replaced by a look of irritation as he glares at me.

I turned back to the owner plus bartender, Joe, to get the drinks, trying to escape the intense looking eyes. I don't hear _him_ move over the loud music playing in the bar and so when I try to turn and dash to our table I got startled to see him closer than before. And me being the Queen of Clumsy, spilled the drinks on him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't hear you move. It was my fault." I gushed as I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Yes, it _was_ your fault. Totally your fault! If you can't walk on a simple flat surface then maybe you shouldn't step out of your house." He snaps at me.

At that moment all my sexual attraction to him evaporates. All I'm thinking is, "_God! This fucker is so fucking rude! Who the fuck is he, to fucking snap at me?_" Yeah, to put it mildly, I got MAD!

I decide to give him the polite way out of this argument and say, "Hey! I said I was sorry! May be _you_ shouldn't leave _your_ house until you learn some _manners!_" I managed to get my words out sans any profanities. However, at my outburst his well-defined jaw hardened even further. I tried reigning in my anger and add, "Listen, I'm sorry for ruining your shirt. But can you at least be polite?"

I thought my calm words would make him see the error in his rudeness but he simply retorted back, "Of course you did. Your sorry won't take the stains out of my shirt! So, can _you_ at least watch where you walk?"

"_Forget polite! This idiot deserves the finger… from both hands!_" my bitchy mind tells me to let him have a taste of my bitchiness. So I snap at him in return, "Oh God! What the _hell_ is wrong with you? Are you incapable of being _polite_? Are you _always_ this rude to _everyone_ or just strangers?"

My anger seemed to stroke his annoyance even more as he replied, "Yeah, well, when the said stranger goes where she's _not _supposed to be, I tend to be rude." My head explodes yelling, "_God! Is this guy real? Did you make a jackass like _this _and send him to your earth? Why, God, why?_"

I spit out what comes to my mind and said, "WHAT! Who the _hell_ do you think you are? What the _fuck_ do you know about where I should and shouldn't be?" By this point I was beyond angry, I was furious. I'm sure I was about to blow steam out of my ears. Soon, tears started prickling in my eyes. But I swore, _I'll be damned if I let this jerk see me cry!_

He ignored my furious expression and answered nonchalantly, "I'm the guy you just tried to drown in Gin-and-Tonic!"

"_If he thinks a few drops on his shirt could drown him then he should be drowned in a pool of alcohol!_" I thought to myself and turned on my sarcasm, "Really? Ok, then. I guess it serves you right, doesn't it? I mean, you _did_ order a Gin-and-Tonic!" I knew I was egging him on but I couldn't shut my mouth and let him win. I wanted to see just how rude he could be.

During our shouting match, _or a tournament I guess_, we had continued to lean closer to each other and at this point our faces were mere inches apart. When I smelled a musky but enticing scent I realized just how close we were standing. Before I could back off a hand started to pull me back.

As the fog of yelling at the rude jerk slowly lifted from my brain I became aware of Rose tugging my hand and saying, "Izzie! Calm down! Let's just grab some beers and get out of here."

Then I saw the mountain pulling the Rude Adonis from behind and saying loudly, "Mase! Bro, what the fuck is wrong with you? Chill out. Seriously, man, it's just a shirt." The RA(Rude Adonis) or _Mase_, as his friend called him, shook his head as if coming out of a stupor and then allowed his friend to pull him back.

As our friends tugged us in opposite directions, I looked back and instantly locked eyes with him. He really was the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on. But he also was the rudest one as well. As I went out the door thought running through my mind was, "_I don't give two shits if Edward looks like the Quasimodo, I just hope he was not rude like the stupid, arrogant, jerk… Mase!_"

**A/N: Thank you for reading.**

**So they met... finally. This chapter is the first thought I had when the plot came to me. Let me know how did you like it?**

**Today's one month birthday of OTC! Yay! Cheers to all my readers! You guys inspire me to write. Thank you for supporting me and OTC. OTC has now had 11k hits. :-D**

**Show me your support and review... please?**

**Until next time. Till then...take care. xoxo**


	10. Chapter 10: Haunted

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters. Nor do I own Enrique Iglesias or Ian Somerhalder! :-(**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. **

**Last chapter we saw our two favorite characters meet, let's see what effect the meeting has on them! ;-)**

**Enjoy Chapter-10 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-10: Haunted**

**EPOV**

Before parting from the bar, I allowed myself one last glance at _her_. She really was the sexiest woman I had ever laid my eyes on. Those deep eyes, that sweet voice, that blush… and especially that sharp tongue… was a definite turn on. I just hoped to God that Isabella was at least one-tenth of this firecracker, Izzie, in both looks and attitude. I mean, a guy can hope, right?

Once we were out of the bar and safely inside Emmett's jeep he looked at me like I had grown two heads and asked, "What the hell, Mase? Why were you being such an ass to the poor girl?" I replied in my head, "_I can't tell you that just seeing her gave me a hard-on that would've waved a hello at the _poor girl,_ as you so _eloquently_ put it, and I was trying to pick a fight with her to bring my stupid dick under control!_" Nope. No way I was gonna say that to Em. Not if I want to survive the upcoming drive back home.

Instead I vaguely replied, "She spilled her drink on my shirt."

Emmett looked at me like my two heads, as he had looked at me before, had each grown two heads of their own! Then he sort of yelled, "Seriously, Bro? It's just the cuff. Come on, man, I know you wouldn't be _this_ worked up over a stupid shirt!"

"Well, it's my favorite shirt," was my _brilliant_ come-back.

"Oh! Alice! It's you! I thought I was out with your stupid ass brother." He was smart-mouthing, trying to piss me off more.

"Ha ha, very funny, Em. In case you've forgotten, Alice considers you her brother too." Before he could say anything else I quickly tried to change the topic saying, "Hey, why were you calling me _Mase _back there? I thought that stupid nickname was gone?"

"Yeah, well, I thought every stupid guy should have a stupid name! And also, the way you've been acting told me that your head got inside a _maze_ and then got lost in your ass. Now don't try to change the topic. Tell me, what did she _do_?" I hate the times my cousin turns all curious.

I sighed realizing there was no way he'll drop it and then said slowly, "She was checking me out, Em. You know how much I hate those looks." I was lying to him and myself. Truth was I would've enjoyed those looks coming from _her_. "_But I hate infidelity and I cannot do something like _this_ to Isabella. I may not know her but my family seems to love her. I did the right thing._" That's what I told myself anyway.

"That's it? Dude, women check men out. It's their natural instinct, just like _most_ guys check girls out in bars." I saw him rolling his eyes when he put emphasis on the '_most guys'_ part. Before I could defend myself he added, "Besides, Bro, that crow's nest on your head is like a chick-magnet! What's the big deal? You always let the mating looks slide… what's the matter now?"

"Well, it mattered _this_ time!" I blurted out before I could stop myself, "It mattered because she… _she_… " I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Holy shit! _The_ great Edward Cullen, heart breaker of the female population at Oxford, is at a loss for words? And that's over a pretty little girl? Is the sun out at night?!" He actually looked out his window as if checking to make sure the sun was not out!

Ugh! I hated his antics at times! I huffed and said, "Shut it, Em! I did _not_ break anyone's heart in Oxford…" then because I'm an idiot I added, "… and she was not _pretty_!"

Emmett looked positively gleeful at the chance of pestering me and said, "You did. Ignoring the female species like they are a new form of plague on earth was heart-breaking to Oxford chicks, trust me." Then he frowned and said, "And… I know you try to prove you are a _saint_ with your _celibacy_ thing, but come on, man, even you have to admit that she _was_ pretty."

My brain focused on his last remark and made me say, "I meant she was not _just_ pretty." Then when I replayed his whole speech I adamantly said, "And, for the record, I am _not_ celibate. I just prefer not to have sex with random people. Because that, is a sure-fire way of landing a health hazard of STDs."

Emmett completely ignored my statement and asked me, "Meaning?" sending his eyebrows near his hairline. I finally decided to say it out right and snapped, "Meaning she was downright sexy… like devil's daughter from my personal hell. And I hate her for it. Because every moment I spend thinking about her I feel like I am cheating on Isabella. So, there… I acted like an ass because I was turned on. Are you happy now? You've got me to spill the beans. Now, DROP IT!" I was getting furious at my cousin over _her. Everything_ was her fault!

Emmett took my outburst in a stride and simply nodded, starting the car. The rest of the drive he didn't say a word, letting me wallow in my misery.

_The universe is so unfair. How can this sexy hell cat with chocolate eyes and long white legs come to me just after I had promised myself to someone else?_ I had to forget Izzie. In order to get her out of my head I tried to imagine what Isabella would look like.

"_Hmm… let's see, Alice said Isabella was a brunette… with chocolate brown eyes… milky white long legs… slender figure… add two blushing red cheeks in that…_" as soon as I realized whom the vision behind my closed eyes belonged to I stopped my train of thought. _Damn it all!_ I was thinking about Izzie… again! What the fuck was wrong with me? A few minutes encounter COULD NOT haunt me like that, right?

**BPOV**

Rosalie Hale was about to throw a tantrum fit. I could feel it coming in waves from her. She was mad because she could not get _cozy_ with the Muscle due to my untimely showdown. I should be feeling sorry for her but if she was thinking I would take shit from her about _this_ then she thought wrong. I was in a bitchy mood thanks to Mr. Rude Adonis, or RA as I've been calling him in my head.

As soon as we were in her BMW I turned to her to stop her hissy-fit before it comes, "Rosalie, I know you're mad about not being able to get the Muscle guy's number, but _do not_ try to yell at me. I'm in a no-shit mood right now. I did what I had to do."

"Bell," Rosalie sighed, "I'm not mad. I'm disappointed… at both of us. At myself- because I failed to make you _feel like a princess_ on your bachelorette night. And at you because you didn't let me fuck the… _Muscle's_, to quote you, brains out." Twitching at the corner of her lips told me she at least found some humor in the whole situation.

She was such a good friend. I felt bad for ruining her _muscular_ plans and said softly, "I'm sorry, Rose. I don't know what came over me." Rose slightly poked me in the ribs and said "Hey! It's cool. It doesn't matter if I never get another guy, you'll always be my best friend."

As I gave her a sheepish smile, she asked me, "Now tell me what the hell did you _do_ to that weirdo? The guy looked like you had taken off your shoes and poked him in the eye with the heels or something."

I felt my ever-unwelcome blush spreading through my cheeks and almost whispered, "Well… you know I am a klutz, right? He sort of startled me at the bar and I kinda spilled my drink on him."

Rose looked like she was about to burst into a laughter but at the last moment thought better of it. "_Nice save, Rose_," I mentally admire her self-control. After a few seconds she said, "So? You know there is a special word for such situations. It's called '_sorry'_. It's that simple, Izzie." Ugh! If anyone could match my sarcasm it definitely was Rose!

"Ha ha, Rose, you're hilarious. I'm about to pee my pants with mirth!" I replied with sarcasm as well, "I did say sorry, smart-ass. But the jerk started to blame me like every bad thing ever to have happened to mankind was my fault!"

"What? Why would he do that?" Rose had an inquisitive look on her face as she continued, "You know, when I first saw you two standing so close to each other, I could swear I felt some sexual tension going on." She was snooping for information. But I didn't want to admit I was attracted to _him_… even momentarily.

So I shrugged and said, "No, Rose, you got it all wrong. We were just trying to stare each other down."

She looked crestfallen as she tried again, "But… even you agree that he was good looking, don't you?"

I sighed and simply shrugged again, "I don't know, Rose."

Rose perked up at my sigh and prodded me saying, "What do you mean, _you don't know_? Were you attracted to him or not? It's a simple question, Bella." I huffed and said to myself, "_What the fuck? Just admit it. He can't hear you._"

So I let my thoughts explode out of my mouth, "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY, ROSALIE? That he was drop-dead gorgeous with ridiculously sexy hair? That he had the most intense eyes I have ever seen? That he would've given me a fucking girly hard-on if it was possible by just a single fucking look? That when we were arguing I was thinking if I could shut him the fuck up by kissing the ever-loving shit out of him? Those are all true, Rose. But that doesn't matter. Because it doesn't change anything. 'Cause he is the rudest jackass I've ever encountered. And even if he wasn't so fucking rude it would still mean _abso-fucking-lutely_ nothing. You know why? Because, I am engaged!" I breathed the last part out feeling like I was about to hyperventilate.

Rose put her hand on my shoulder and said in a soothing manner, "Ok, B, calm down." When I was breathing regularly again she continued, "C'mon, B, seriously? That's the first time I've heard you say you were turned on by someone who's not Enrique Iglesias or Ian Somerhalder. This is big! May be you should have gone for this guy. I mean you don't even know Eddie."

I looked incredulously at my friend. She knows me… knows how I always do what my parents think is best for me. If they think Edward will be good for me then I would marry him… to make my parents happy. So I shook my head at her and said, "Well, I don't know this… Mase… either. Now stop talking about him. I don't wanna waste another moment of my precious time thinking about him." Just as Rosalie opened her mouth to pursue the matter further I quickly continued, "Shut it, Blondie! Get us home. I need to have a clear head for the long drive back to Forks tomorrow."

Rose almost growled at my calling her names and then decided I was right. Nodding she turned on the car. When we were on our way I tried to get Mase out of my head. The best way to do that seemed like to concentrate on Edward. "_So, Bella, what would Edward Cullen look like?_" I asked myself, "_Well, first thing is his hair_…" here I got stuck. I couldn't decide on his hair color. I mean, his family all had different hair colors!

_"Okay, forget hair. What color eyes should he have?"_ I faced the same dilemma again, seeing that Carlisle and Alice had blue eyes and Esme… Esme had green eyes. "_Though Esme's green is more like a forest green, isn't it? More vibrant green is better, like emerald green…_" with that I lost my train of thought as my mind conjured up an image. An image of piercing green eyes, unruly bronze hair… well-defined jaw… pale skin…

"_Whoa, Swan! You're thinking of Mase… _again_? What the hell is wrong with you? It's not like you haven't seen a guy before. What's so special about him? How long are you gonna let him haunt your thoughts like this?_" as my mind chastised me I kept wondering the same questions… what _was _so special about him?

**-OTC-**

I was still reeling from the thoughts of _him_ when we got home. Rosalie looked at my lost expression and smirked, "Izzie, you seriously need to get laid, dude! Then you wouldn't have this lost puppy like look on your face. Want me to find someone for you to hook up with?"

I am sure the look on my face told her just how horrified I was at her suggestion. I had held on to my precious V-card for this long and she thought that I'll be happy to just hand it over to some faceless, nameless stranger just before getting married?! "_Don't think so, Sister!"_ My heart and my head simultaneously shouted at her.

Rose's way to thinking made me feel sick. _Sometimes she could be too damn reckless!_ So I didn't even attempt to grace her crass question with an answer (_not that I thought she deserved one anyway!_) lest I should start puking my shots up. Instead I just flipped her the bird and went to my room.

When I got into my bed for the night I felt how tensed I was; no way I would be able to sleep like this. So, I decided to take up the advice of _all-knowledgeable_ Rosalie Hale, well at least to some extent… I didn't get laid… I masturbated.

It was not the first time I had done it, in fact my mom was the one who gave me a leaflet in my college freshman year that advised on the ways to relieve tension… So, basically I was just relieving tension, right?

However, after finishing up I realized that it was the first time I had done _this_ while thinking of a real person… _him_… and not a fictional character! What was_ he_ doing to me?

Finally, relaxed, I fell asleep just as my head touched the pillow. And then, I had a weird dream. I knew that I had to be dreaming but it felt like it really _had_ happened… like it was not a dream but a memory.

_A little boy in batman swimming trunks was sitting by a backyard pool, swinging his legs. He had a head full of crazy bronze locks. He looked about five years old. Suddenly the boy looked up and shouted, "C'mon, Bellarina, don't you want to learn to swim?"_

_In response to his shout, a shrill cry was heard, "E… E… E… E…" then a brown haired girl came running out of the changing room from other side of the backyard, wearing a flowery swimsuit. _Looking at her, I did a double take because that little girl was my three year old self! I could see the similarities from the baby photos my mom had of me.

_She was running with a huge grin on her face until she tripped and fell. _"Now I'm sure that's me!" even my subconscious knew how much of a klutz I was!_ The little girl took a look at her bleeding knee and started crying and the boy rushed towards her._

_He tried soothing her and when her crying tapered slightly he held her face in his hands and wiped away her tears. Then he said seriously, "No, Bellarina, Don't cry. Pretty girls shouldn't cry. You should always smile." Then he leaned in and kissed her knee and the girl gave him a toothy grin, her pain forgotten already…_

I woke up with a start after this cute but bizarre dream. What the fuck was that? The boy definitely looked like him… _Mase_… and I couldn't shake the feeling that I had experienced this thing before. But that can't be right, can it?

The last thought on my mind before slipping back into sleep was, "_God! I am about to marry a stranger and now having weird dreams about another stranger! It's official… I am royally screwed!_"

**EPOV**

After Emmett dropped me at home I went straight to the bathroom to take a cold shower where I vehemently gave a _talk_ about inappropriate behavior to my way-ward behaving genitals. Alas! It didn't help. Just the thought of _her_ fiery eyes made me hard again. So, yeah… I did the exact opposite of what I intended before… and ended up jerking off! Even then when I tried to think about Isabella my treacherous mind brought Izzie's face before my eyes.

That night I couldn't fall asleep at first. When sleep did come, I had a vivid dream that made my head even fuzzier than before.

In my dream there were two kids; a boy of about four years of age and a girl who looked to be of two. I knew right away that the boy was me… because who else would have that crazy-as-fuck hair, right? But the girl… she had brown hair with deep brown, almost chocolaty, eyes… suddenly it clicked… she looked like a little version of Izzie!

_Anyway, we were playing under a tree when a much younger Reneé Swan _(younger than the one I met a few days back)_ appeared at a distance and called to us to come wash up if we wanted the ice cream. I didn't catch the beginning of her call but it was clear to me she was calling for us._

_The girl stood up, hearing the word ice cream and started to rush towards Mrs. Swan but before she could reach her the girl tripped and fell down. She started whimpering with pain and then she looked up at me and whispered, "E… hurts!"_

_My four year old self ran to her as fast as my little feet would carry me and quickly wrapped her in my arms. I was saying calming words to stop her crying, "Bellarina, I got you. Don't cry. I not like to see you cry." She tried to smile at me through her tears and threw her arms around my neck saying, "E, you are the bestest best friend ever!"_

I was jolted awake from my dream. What the hell was happening to me? It felt like my mind was trying to connect me to Izzie, no doubt trying to justify the improper thoughts I kept having about her. But then I thought, "_Wait a second, why on earth did I call Izzie '_Bellarina'_? And that dream… it felt so real… Ugh!_"

I groaned in frustration. That woman was seriously messing with my head. I had a feeling that if it continued this way then _she_ would be the death of me!

**A/N: So... a 3k plus chapter for you! I couldn't resist putting in a bit of drama. ;-)**

**How was it? Good? Bad? Totally not worth your wait for update? Let me know! I love to hear from you guys!**

** Thanks for reading everyone! Now, leave me a review, please?**

**Take care.**

**Ann**


	11. Chapter 11: It's Happening!

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters. **

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you.**

**Enjoy Chapter-11 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-11: It's Happening!**

**BPOV**

The next day, after a late brunch, Rose and I drove down to Forks. We decided to take my truck so that on the way back to Seattle, _if I get married_, then I'll be riding with Edward, leaving Rose to drive my truck back. Rose had a hangover due to unknown amount of alcohol consumption. Secretly, I was glad. Don't think of me as a bad friend. I love Rosalie Hale to death, but she was just too nosy. So, I knew if she hadn't had the skull-shattering pain, she'd try to get us killed by talking incessantly about Mase. "_And let's face it, that guy is seriously injurious to your health. All these thoughts about him let you have very less sleep last night and now arguing about him may distract you to drive your truck straight to a tree!_" I mentally told myself, because I knew I had had enough thoughts of that man as it was.

We reached Forks just when the sun was about to set. When my Mom told me that we were going to meet the Cullens at the diner for dinner and going over the plans for tomorrow, we being my _charming _self, Reneé, Rosalie and Rose's mom, Mrs. Hale, I thought I was going to meet my husband-to-be that night.

However before I could start hyperventilating- my Dad, Charlie, seemed to take in my scared look and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Kiddo. Edward isn't going to be there. Heard from Carlisle he's still finishing up the furnishing of his apartment. But he'll be here…" I'm sure my eyes looked like fucking tennis balls thinking just where _here_ was. Again Dad calmed me before I had a chance of voicing my horrors, "… Let me finish, Bells. He'll be here, _meaning_, Forks not our house… by tomorrow afternoon. And since you know about your Mom's… _superstitions_, I don't think you'll meet him tomorrow night. So, I guess you'll meet him at the altar itself."

I sighed with relief. I didn't want to know if Edward Cullen was a rodent-look-alike or some other shit. Because if he did turn out to be bad-looking I'm sure my pathetic mind will start to compare him with Mase. And I honestly didn't want to think of _him_ anymore than necessary! So I plastered a smile on my face and said to my Dad, "Yeah, got it, Dad. That's actually a good idea."

**-OTC-**

At the diner, the wedding _Nazis_… I mean _planners_… talked excitedly about taking a spa day tomorrow. But I couldn't gather enough fake enthusiasm to join them. Because let's face it, a whole day of picking, sticking, poking, prodding, scrubbing, rubbing and of course… some or other Barbie-wanna-be bitch sitting on the chair next to me was definitely _not_ my idea of Heaven. (I have no idea why but every time Rose had dragged me to spa I had been the one to be stuck with but vain bitch while Rose focused on her Cosmopolitan magazine in peace. Lucky bitch!) Beside, the majority of my attention and brain's neurons were still stuck on thoughts of _him_.

"_This fucking fixation on a fucking rude guy is simply fucking ridiculous!_" I thought to myself just as I remembered his heated look of intense dislike once again. _Everything _reminded me of him. Even a simple glass of water poured in a wine glass reminded me how he looked dowsed in my drink. Trying to shake of my stupor I looked at Esme and _of course_ her forest green eyes reminded me of a pair of emerald green ones. This was seriously getting out of hand!

With each passing moment I got angrier and more frustrated. Angry at him for invading my thoughts and frustrated at my lack of self control. Slowly, another feeling overcame me… guilt. The guilt for thinking of another guy… _him_ of all people… while people were making plans for my marriage to Edward, rivaled my anger. When Reneé announced we were good to go I heaved a sigh of relief and hoped my smile in farewells to Esme and Alice looked genuine.

That night, before going to sleep I promised myself that I was _NOT_ going to think of _him_ anymore. As a result, he was on my mind before I fell asleep. Can anyone guess what it resulted in? Ding… ding… ding! _Naturally _that fucker invaded my dreams with his sexy as hell Rude Adonis self!

**-OTC-**

On Friday, we, the ladies of WN (Wedding Nazis) Ltd. and _my-useless-bride-self_, all went to Port Angeles for our _so anticipated_ spa day. My thoughts? "_Two words… Oh Joy!_" I had a very early morning so… I was bitchier than usual… thanks to my future-sister-in-law, the _Hitler Pixie!_

However, as the day went on, I guess it turned out to be pretty… _tolerable_? "_May be that's because you were spared the horrors of Brazilian Wax!_" I told myself. But that's not what made it a _good_ day though… that was all thanks to Esme, my personal mother angel!

Esme was such a sweetheart! I guess my use of endearment may be biased due to the Gin-and-Tonic in my hand but she's a good company. She told me stories about how she was the first person, beside my parents, to hold me the day I was born… how Edward wanted to have a chance to hold the _pretty baby_ too… It seemed surreal that Edward was present in the room when my parents first introduced me to the world as Isabella Swan! "_So, that means… he's not a _complete _stranger, right?_" I guessed my drink was making me think too much!

Anyway, Esme remembered the most insignificant details of my childhood. She remembered how I took my first steps early making everyone, including Dad, tear up… how my first smile was directed at a certain silly boy making funny faces… how I loved having ice cream… how my first word made her and Reneé cry… how I was adamant to call both her and Reneé Mom… how I cried clutching her legs pleading her not to go away when I was four… everything.

A common feature of her stories was that almost every story contained Edward. I tried very hard but for the life of me, couldn't remember any boy being such a huge part of my childhood. The only boy I could remember from my early years was Jacob-fucking-Black, the fucker-extraordinaire, whom I unfortunately befriended at the age of eleven.

Esme and I were snapped back into the present by Alice's sad pouty voice saying, "Bella, we're so sorry. We couldn't arrange a bridal shower for you. Just a few more weeks would have been lovely. But, oh, well… we have arranged a Girls' Night for you… TONIGHT! What do you say? Anything you want to do, see, eat before tying the knot with my brother?" I could practically see her vibrating with suppressed energy and anticipation.

I couldn't crush her directly after being excused from the _official_ bachelorette thing so I tried to side-step, "No, Alice, it's not really necessary. I don't mind not having a bridal shower… or a Girls' Night… and I don't think I'll be changing my eating habits just because I got married. So, it's ok. Truly!"

The last bit brought on a round of laughter on everyone's faces. After the mirth was under-control Esme smiled at me and said, "Don't panic, Dear. It's going to be just Alice, Rosalie and my future-daughter, you. You will eat a few pizzas, watch some chick-flicks, have a few drinks and that will be it. I tried reigning Alice in, as much as possible," she winked at me.

Hearing her call me daughter, I couldn't help but adore Esme Cullen a bit more. She really was a natural mother. She was my mother-angel. So, of course I couldn't say no to her. I acquiesced and just like that it was decided how I was going to spend my last night as a single woman.

**EPOV**

Emmett and I spent the next Thursday and Friday morning in decorating Isabella's room as per instructed by my sister. Alice had told me that Isabella loved reading. So, I bought a bookshelf for her thinking she would need a place to keep her books. However, this made Emmett grunt and shake his head at me like I was some kind of moron! When I couldn't take his silent reproach I asked him what his problem was.

Imagine my surprise when my idiot cousin said, "Dude, you are getting married to this chick. And the whole point of marrying is so that Li'l Ed can finally see some action! Why the fuck are you buying her a bookshelf? Buy her some lingerie so that you can get some!" I shuddered and mentally cut him off when he addressed my genitals! After the shock wore off I shook my head at his horny teenager like attitude and said, "I have just _one_ thing to say to you, Em. No matter how close we are, never… ever… EVER… call my dick names… _EVER_!"

Emmett gave me an innocent look that said, "_Who, me?_" I just decided to ignore his antics. Truth was, my brother was hung over; though I wasn't sure if it was over excessive alcohol or Izzie's blond friend.

Whatever the reason, that Thursday night, when we went out to get a few drinks to relax after our hard day of furniture-moving, Emmett for once, did _not_ hit on any and every female thing that was breathing.

To complete our picture of The Broody Duo I sat beside him with just one glass of Gin-and-Tonic in my hands, thinking about _her_. Now don't ask me which her… because by this point, whenever I thought of Isabella, my mind created Izzie's face.

**-OTC-**

By Friday evening Isabella's room was ready and waiting for her in my place and Emmett and I were standing in my parents' backyard. My mother and sister was not home so the sudden shriek of a feminine voice could only mean two things- first, they were back and second, my dad had told Alice where we were.

"Em! Ed! Em! Ed!" as expected Alice's squealing preceded her tiny form. Emmett looked at me and smiled. No matter how much of an irritant she was we both loved our little sister. Before we could move towards the house Alice came bounding out of the door and jumped in Emmett's outstretched arms. "Hey, Squirt! What's with all the squealing?" "_Emmett always got away with calling her that, not fair!_" I internally sulked.

Alice didn't even flinch hearing Em call names because of her height, _again, not fair…_ she simply shrugged saying, "I got a little excited to see my brothers." When Em murmured, "I bet!" she poked her tongue out at him and then she came over to hug me tightly.

I smiled and crouched down to hug her better then whispered, "Hey, Al, how are you?" Alice let go of me and beamed squealing yet again, "I'm great, Bro. Isabella is the best sister I could ever ask for. Oh! Ed, I'm so happy for you. You will be perfect for each other!" she ended with a happy sigh. I couldn't help smiling back. _I guess her happiness was rubbing off on me!_

Emmett finally noticed that Alice being there meant my mother was back at home as well. So, he hollered in his loud-ass booming voice, "Aunt Esme, where are you? Aren't you going to lavish your favorite nephew with your delicious dishes?" I just huffed at his immature ways_. I swear all the guy ever thought of was chicks and food!_

As if answering Emmett's prayer for food, my mom came out of the door with a huge platter of Chocolate Chip Cookies and said, "Here you go, Dear. You're looking rather worn-out living alone." I snorted, because Emmett looking _worn out_ will be something of a tenth wonder! Mom just gave me a look that always made me feel like an errant little boy for snorting rudely at my cousin.

Then she turned to Alice and said, "Alicia, aren't you supposed to be at the Swans' now? This was your idea after all. Reneé had just called to let me know that Rosalie is already there. You shouldn't keep your new sister waiting now, should you?" I guessed Alice received a look similar to the one I had gotten.

But Alice being Alice didn't seem least bothered about mom's reprimand rather she frowned at her saying, "Mom, its ALICE! Why do you insist on calling me Alicia? It sounds like an old-lady name!" Then she turned to glower at me and continued her tirade, "It's all your fault, Edward! You made me forget about the Girls' Night. Now I _have to_ speed through the town to get there on time..."

I was about to smirk and quip, "_Yeah, I bet you wouldn't have sped anyway._" But Alice wasn't finished, "… Anyway, Em, eat slowly or you'll choke and Ed, I'll see you tomorrow, Big Bro. Bye Mom!" After finishing the whole speech in a single breath she rushed out of the house leaving us gaping at her departing figure.

I was confused about why I'd see her the next day. Mom must have seen my expression as she explained that instead of throwing a bridal shower Alice had arranged a Girls' Night for Isabella. I nodded not knowing if I was supposed to say anything about that. But I didn't have to worry; Emmett had finally swallowed his food and was ready to voice his thoughts.

He clapped on my shoulder and boomed, "If the chicks… I mean _girls,_" he quickly amended after receiving the Emse Cullen "_behave!"_ frown, "… are having a celebration then so will we. Yo, Ed, how about we ask Uncle Carlisle to join us on a Boys' Night of video game marathon… Let's start with _Assassin's Creed_!" He was busy listing off the games we should play and that sounded like a damn good idea to me to celebrate my last night of bachelorhood!

**BPOV**

As the veil of sleep slowly lifted from my mind, I looked around my parents' living room. A slow smile came on my face. "They_ wanted me to have a Girls' Night… and now their place is trashed! It serves them right though. I mean they're my parents. They are supposed to save me from my hyperactive sister-in-law not instigate her by offering her their home as the venue!_" I thought resentfully. Then I took a better look around my surroundings.

On my dad's beloved flat-screen, the end credits for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (_At least that's what I thought it was… seeing that's what we were watching before I passed out!_) was rolling. Alice was sleeping, curled into a tight ball on the couch and Rosalie was flat-out passed out on the floor. "_Great! We'd make an awesome bridal party!_" I grinned at the thought… _God! Why the hell am I grinning? May be I _am_ drunk…_

Then I looked down at myself and saw that I was lying, with my left half hanging off the side, on the love seat and apparently, the only one awake. "_But maybe that's 'cause you had the least amount of liquor in you. Admit it, raiding Dad's liquor cabinet and drinking all that scotch from the pink styrofoam cup while pretending it was the _Holy Grail_, was not one of your brightest moments!_" my voice of reason in my head was sounding bitchier by the minute. I silently gave my inner bitch a finger.

I decided that before going back to sleep or passing out… again… I should at least try to be comfortable. With that on my mind, I walked up to my bedroom… okay, stumbled and tripped up to my bedroom in search of blankets for myself and my two super drunk bridesmaids. While rifling through the linen closet, my eyes caught a silvery hue and as I moved towards it I found myself standing before my mirror.

I surreptitiously looked around me. I was alone, in my old room, in front of a mirror… and a _tiny bit_ drunk. I decided this was the best time to give myself a talk because I suspected from the moment I open my eyes again, Alice will be glued to my side. So, talk time… I took a deep breath, then coughed… seeing I accidentally inhaled too much air and then stared my reflection down…

"Bella, look around you. This is your last night, in your childhood room as a free woman. Tomorrow by this time you will be Mrs. Edward Cullen. Don't worry. Seeing how amazing Esme is, I'm sure Carlisle and she will be the best in-laws. You already love Alice. They are all so nice. Edward will be nice too. Even if he was not a nice guy, he must have become nice by now because of inductive effects of his family's niceness. Besides, you won't be alone in Seattle. You have Rose and Jazz. They'll be a phone call away. If anything goes wrong, _like Edward turns out to be a psycho killer_, they'll take care of you." I stopped to take a breath and then started once again.

"Don't freak out. Your parents had an arranged marriage. Look how happy they are together. Love is nothing. It's just a passionate idea. Because, let's face it… in real life, you won't find a Darcy or Damon Salvatore. You'll have to make do with Edward and be happy with him. Got it?" I nodded at my reflection.

Then as I was looking into the mirror, I tried to imagine how Edward would look, standing before me and me saying _"I do"_ to him. But as usual, for the last few days, the guy I imagined was _not_ Edward. It was Mase. So the night before my marriage to Edward, I imagined myself saying the binding words to Mase. _Life was awesome, right?_

**-OTC-**

**_Saturday, August 13th. Time: 1.15 p.m._**

I don't even know how the day had passed me by. Suddenly, I found myself standing in front of a mirror once again. But unlike last night, I wasn't wearing my holey pajamas. Nope, I was wearing a floor-length white satin gown with a sweetheart neckline. My usually boring, straight hair was arranged in soft curls with beautiful blue and white flowers pinned in it. I was wearing a simple white veil which was clipped to my hair with a blue hair comb containing blue sapphires. It belonged to my Nana Swan. So, it was my '_something old and something blue,_' according to Mom anyway.

Beneath my dress I had on a baby blue garter which Rosalie lent me as my '_something borrowed_'. To top it all off, I was wearing a simple diamond pendant with its matching earrings dangling from my ears. This set was a gift from my parents and my '_something new_'. The jewelry and my dress were the only things that didn't have blue in them as Alice, our main wedding planner, had decided white and blue as the wedding colors. However, I couldn't complain, because I did look good.

I was standing in the_ bride's room_ in Fork's one and only church, St. Joseph's. Within the next fifteen minutes I was going to become Mrs. Edward Cullen. Alice had squealed a few minutes ago that the groom had arrived. "_Honestly, you'd think the girl was seeing her own brother for the first time in her life!_" I shook my head thinking about her antics. Then my bitchy subconscious reared its ugly head and snarked, "_Maybe she isn't seeing him for the first time. But you will be. Any thoughts on what you're gonna do if he looks like something that got stuck at the bottom of your shoes?_" I really had no escape plan. So I just ignored the bitch for now thinking _I'll cross that bridge when I come to it._

I wished my maid of honor would hurry up and try to calm me before I get a panic attack! Rosalie had gone to sneak a peek at the guests with Alice. I had no idea who was on the guest list to begin with. I had only one request, Jacob Black should not be allowed here to tarnish my new life. Charlie was understanding and accepted my request so I did not care much about rest of the invitees.

A knock on the door brought me out of my reverie and I looked up to see my father scan the room briefly before stepping in. He gave me a shaky smile and said, "You look beautiful, Bells. I'm very proud of you, kid. Thanks for trusting me enough to agree to do this," he choked the last words as his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

For once in my life I couldn't find any sarcastic remark. Instead, I felt my tears stinging my eyes as I hugged him. Just like I used to do as a little girl, I buried my face in his chest and said, "Thanks, Dad. You are the only man I would trust with my life."

Apparently Charlie had enough of emotions by then and asked me gruffly sounding like the brave father who was about to give away his only child, "Ok, then. Now, are you ready? Any later and your mother would cause a small flood in the church with her _eye-allergies_." I laughed at his serious tone.

I was about to join dad in making fun of mom when Rose suddenly rushed into the room, looking like she had seen a ghost, "Bell, Oh, God! I need to talk to you NOW!" I was shocked at her expression because, very little had the ability to freak Rosalie Hale out. I stuttered, "Rose, what…?"

However, I was interrupted again by Alice, this time. She whispered urgently, "Rosalie, it's our queue. Come on!" then she turned to me and ordered, "Bella, count to ten and then come out with Charlie, ok?" she looked like she was gonna burst from happiness. I shook off my nerves and nodded to my new sister as she dragged Rose out. The door closed behind them and I started to count in my head, "This is it! 1…2…3…4…5..."

I felt like I should bolt and flee the other way but the slight pressure from Charlie's hand calmed me to an extent. "You ready, Kid?" he asked again. I couldn't seem to find the right words to answer him so instead I just nodded and said, "Just don't let me fall, Dad." My dad kissed the top of my head and replied solemnly, "Never".

Suddenly the piano music changed and the traditional wedding march began playing. The door opened again and Charlie, clasping my hand tightly, escorted me to walk down the aisle.

**EPOV**

I was regretting my decision- not my decision to marry Isabella but the choice of Emmett as my best man. I don't think I could have chosen anyone worse even if I tried. For the last fifteen minutes he has been talking crap about Isabella taking a look at my '_ugly mug'_ (quote-unquote) and running for the hills resulting in me being left at the altar.

I was scared to the point of feeling nauseous as it was, thinking of meeting the woman I was going to pledge my life to. I really didn't need Emmett to freak me the fuck out. I was also on the edge thinking of what mom told me last night, before going to bed. She told me how Isabella had been my best friend from the ages of two to six, how mom had always wanted _the sweet girl_ to be her daughter, how I cried when we left for England because I was leaving my _Bellarina_.

Mom had been far off to the past while talking about those days, so she didn't see my eyes nearly pop out of my skull in a _Jim Carrey fashion_. If mom was right and I did use to call _her_ 'Bellarina' then my weird dream two nights ago would make it a memory. "_But how the hell Isabella becomes_ Bellarina_?_" that question was still unanswered.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the sudden hush in the guests. The sudden music made me take notice of my surroundings. I looked towards my mom and Reneé who were trying to control their happy tears by clutching each other's hands in death grips. My dad was standing a few feet behind me waiting to take his seat with his friend, Charlie.

Hearing Em's sudden cough I turned to look down at the aisle and saw my sister and another blond girl walking down to stand opposite side of the altar from Emmett. Alice looked very happy to be chosen as a bridesmaid. It was really thoughtful of Isabella to include my sister in her bridal party- I would have to thank her for it later. The blond was looking at me curiously. I thought she looked a bit familiar- like I had seen her somewhere before- but I couldn't remember where. And frankly, at that moment- I simply didn't care.

Because, all of a sudden the traditional Wagner's Wedding March was being played by the wrinkly old church hymn pianist. Eager to see the famous Isabella I looked up to the doors. The doors opened and my _bride_ was there- walking down the aisle towards me on her father's arm. She was looking down at her feet. "_Maybe worrying about what kind of heathen she was being pushed towards!"_ I grimaced at my line of thoughts.

Then I remembered Alice saying Isabella was shy, so maybe she was not making eye-contact due to her shyness. I couldn't see her face through the veil she had on. But I _could_ see her figure through her form-fitting gown and… _dare I say it?..._ I liked what I saw! I could see the way she was clutching her father's arm as if afraid to let him go. This seemed endearing to me. "_Really, Cullen? Now this stranger was _endearing _to you? Since you've decided to act like a pussy why don't you ask your mother for a spare hanky so that you can join her and Reneé's cry-baby party?"_ I tried to control my emotional feelings after that thought.

While I was having my internal sulking moment the procession had advanced and suddenly Charlie Swan was standing in front of me. He kissed his daughter on her cheek and put her hand on mine. As soon as our hands touched I felt a slight tingling.

I heard Isabella take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she looked up granting me the chance to gaze upon the face of my bride. As I looked at her face through her veil I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and at that moment I knew… God officially hates me because I was fucked for life!

**A/N: Sorry for the cliffy! But this chapter is already ridiculously long. It's above 4.5k words and most probably going to be one of the longest chapters of OTC.**

**So don't pout like Alice because the next chapter will be out within a few days.**

**Let me know your thoughts and review, please?**

**Take care.**

**Ann**


	12. Chapter 12: Married to… who, now?

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters. **

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you.**

**Enjoy Chapter-12 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-12: Married to… who, now?**

**BPOV**

As Charlie walked me down the aisle, I kept a very tight grip on his arm and I couldn't help but look down at my feet. I knew most people would think of me as the shy, blushing bride but in reality, when Alice Cullen puts you in five-inch heels, keeping an eye on your footing is necessary.

I was vaguely aware of Charlie kissing my cheek and putting my hand in someone else's but I was still looking at my feet enclosed in silvery death-traps… I mean heels. However, the second my hand touched the new hand I felt a slight tingling sensation that originated from my hand and spread through my spinal cord. _Well, that was_ _weird, huh?_ My mind told me that I needed to calm down. So I slowly took a deep breath and let it out. After feeling sufficiently calm, I looked up to finally take a look at the face of the man holding my hand and then… I gasped!

"_What the…?_" even my mind couldn't finish the thought. Because, standing before me looking equally shocked was none other than the rudest and handsomest guy I had ever seen… _Mase_! "_It's official, Swan. Congratulations! You've finally lost your mind!_" I told myself, "_Or maybe Alice had made me drink too much last night that I am hallucinating! Or maybe I am dreaming. Yeah, that must be it._"

As I mentally tried to justify the vision before me I remembered having a pretty similar dream the night before. So, I must still be lying in my parents' living room. Then I decided, "_If I am indeed dreaming of marrying this Adonis or humanized version of David, I may as well enjoy myself. It's not like he's ugly or anything… nope, he's the very definition of male perfection… until he opens his mouth that is!"_

_'Dream_ _Mase_' was looking intently at me as if waiting for me to bolt. "_Well, Mister RA, two can play at this staring game!_" with that thought I returned his look and kept eye contact while the pastor droned on. I didn't even hear a single word of what Pastor Weber said. "_But it's all good… it's not like it's a real wedding or anything! It's just a stupid dream! So, just enjoy the view, Bella,"_ I told myself.

Suddenly through my staring contest with Mase, I felt him squeeze my hand slightly and zoned in just on time to hear the Pastor ask me _the_ question… you know the 'lawfully wedded one'? I didn't even try to think before answering. Feeling that it was a recurring dream, I gave the answer I gave the last time; I said '_I do_'.

Instantly, Mase's face broke into a smile. _Damn! Even in my dream he looks so gorgeous!_ I couldn't make myself to look at anything but his smiling face. When it was his turn to say the words, the left side of his mouth turned up just a bit more- making his smile a crooked one and his voice rang loud and clear dowsing me in it.

When Pastor Weber asked for the rings and they didn't magically appear on our hands I got confused. _Because, in dreams everything is supposed to appear as soon as you think of it, right?_ With confusion still coloring my thoughts I turned to take the ring from Rosalie as she leaned in and whispered softly, "Bell, I'm sorry. I tried to tell you who Edward really was but Alice pulled me away. I'm really sorry, Bella."

Rosalie's words were still running through my head as I looked back towards the _groom_ and I had a sudden moment of clarity. "_So…that means… Oh, fuck! Shit… fucking fuck! God! You're such an idiot, Swan!"_ I suddenly realized I wasn't having the same dream again. Edward _was_ Mase! And I, the queen of everything stupid, had actually said, _I Do_, to Edward Cullen aka Mase! _Kill me now!_

**EPOV**

I couldn't believe my luck when Isabella turned out to be Izzie. I didn't know if I should be happy or worried and kick my own ass; happy because the girl I was about to marry turned out to be the girl I had been thinking of every waking moment of the past few day… _literally_! But I was worried too… worried that because my utter rudeness and dick-headedness will send her running away from me- screaming- and suddenly I didn't want that. It was so strange! Now I was worried about the breaking off a wedding to which I had consented begrudgingly in the first place! It's just…_ her_. She made every straight-line of my life a tangled mess. And I suddenly _wanted_ that mess in my life. I wanted _her_ in my life.

I could tell she was as shocked to see me as I was her but slowly she had a thoughtful look on her face. Then after a heartbeat the look turned determined. I was completely mesmerized to see her- looking utterly breath-taking. I couldn't stop staring- _more like ogling_- at her. She kept eye contact with me the whole time. I wanted to get lost in her eyes. When the actual part of the wedding approached I couldn't help but squeeze her hand slightly. She didn't run away; no, instead she calmly said _those_ words- the words that would bind her to me… the words that would make her _mine- _and I couldn't help grinning like a loon who had recently escaped from an asylum. When my time came, I proudly vowed myself to her- because I suddenly wanted to be hers as well.

As soon as the Pastor asked for the rings, her look shifted to thoughtful again as she turned to take the ring from the blond. The blond- I now realized was her friend from the bar. _Guess that explains Emmett's coughing fit!_ I mentally noted. But one look at Isabella's face drove everything else from my mind.

She had a tiny frown in her forehead. I suddenly had an insane urge to kiss it. But then her eyes got bigger and I understood that she was finally starting to freak out. _"Oh hell, Cullen, quickly put that ring on her finger. Then she would not be able to run away!"_ This time I agreed with the head above my shoulder.

So I quickly pulled her hand towards me and slipped the ring on her third finger. Then as the Pastor motioned her to do the same I put my hand forward. But she just kept staring at my hand. I was getting impatient and so I inched my finger closer towards the ring she was holding in her hand. Finally she seemed to snap out of it and hastily put the ring on my finger.

The pastor then pronounced us Man and Wife and finally asked me to kiss_ my bride_- something I had been fantasizing about for the last three nights and by then was desperate to do. However I was not a caveman, I would _not_ force myself upon any woman and definitely not my _wife. God! I love the sound of her being_ my wife! Even in my head I was starting to sound like a chick- and it was all because of her.

I looked into her eyes and saw they had gone wider- as if she hadn't anticipated the kiss in the end. Trying to calm her down, I slowly lifted my hands and cupped her face. Her wide eyed look was gone all of a sudden; rather a determination was taking the place of shock on her face. She hastily touched my arms as if she was going to stop me. And like that all my resolves about **_not being a caveman_** were gone. I tightened my hold on her face slightly and deliberately leaned in. She tried to turn her face to make me kiss her cheek instead but I held her chin and lifted her lips to mine. Then I slowly brushed my lips across hers. Testing the waters- knowing that if she backed away I would give her space no matter how much I wanted to kiss her.

But it looked like I didn't need to worry about that. Because as soon as our lips touched I felt her rigid body start to relax and I slackened my hold on her because her acceptance was precious to me… she was precious to me and I was afraid to hurt her by holding on to her too tightly. Slowly she started to respond to my kiss. Her hands travelled up my arms and went around my neck. _Holy Shit!_ _She is kissing me back like she meant it!_

I had to control my urge to deepen the kiss. Instead, I kissed her softly though my mind was telling to kiss her sweet lips off of her face but that would have to wait. This was our first kiss and I wanted it to be sweet and tender because _she_ deserved it- she deserved everything.

I have absolutely no idea how much time had passed since I started kissing her. But when I heard people starting to clap I knew I had to stop the kiss- that and the fact that I was feeling light-headed from lack of breathing. I slowly leaned back to take a look at my- wife, Isabella, or Izzie. I didn't even know who she was… all I knew was she was _mine_ and I would do everything in my power to erase the jackass of last week from her mind and win her heart.

We were both breathing heavily and she was looking at me with bright and confused eyes. She looked like she was looking for something. I figured we'd have the rest of our lives to talk so I winked at her and turned the both of us towards our family and friends, just as Emmett's booming voice announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you for the first time- Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen!" The fact that I liked the sound of that scared me a little.

**BPOV**

Mrs. Edward Cullen! I was _Mrs. Edward Cullen_! "_Oh, God! This is bad… and mind shattering… and shocking… and not to mention… scary as fuck! I am married! To the rudest and most obnoxious guy I've ever met in my little sheltered life!"_ I kept saying in my mind.

He was so rude that he even kissed me by force when he clearly could see that I had no intention of kissing him. "_Oh how are you kidding, Swan? You liked it. Admit it!"_ my bitchy subconscious was right. I really couldn't bring myself to dislike him for that kiss. Because _that _was how I envisioned first kisses would be like. It was sweet and he was so careful in handling me as if I was made of the most delicate crystal.

While I was having these conflicting thoughts running wild in my head he had turned us towards the guests, tucked my hand on the crook of his arm and was now walking us down the end of the aisle- where our parents were waiting for us. I barely registered being kissed and hugged by my mother as my mind was still reeling from what had happened.

I was snapped back in the reality when soft arms enclosed me in her loving embrace and I heard Esme say, "My darling girl, I can't believe you are finally- in true sense of the word- my daughter. I've wanted you as my daughter from the moment I saw your beautiful face. I've always loved you as much as I love my Alicia, even when I was in England. Now you are legally my daughter." Her words brought tears to my eyes- _thank God Rose put water-proof make up on me! _It's not like cared for make up much but the bride turning up, looking like an emo chick or a panda bear- would certainly have caused a sensation in the wedding reception! I hugged Esme tightly and then looked at Rose over her shoulder. I needed my best friend; one look at me and she nodded with understanding.

As Esme let go of me Rosalie approached us saying, "Ok, sappy people, we should get going to the reception to congratulate the happy couple!" Her wording made everyone laugh. She gave us some time to settle down and then continued, "What I was going to say was… I think we should start for the reception. Because, some of us have to get back to Seattle tonight." There was a murmur of assent as everyone started to exit the church.

My mom started to pull me with her when Rose intervened saying, "Reneé, I think I need to adjust Bell's face before leaving. I'm sure no one would want the beautiful bride to look snotty and blotchy in the pictures! Why don't you guys go ahead to the Cullens' place? We'll follow you." Ugh! I almost forgot… the reception was to be held in the Cullens' huge-ass house. I mean, I didn't know it was 'huge-ass' seeing that I never stepped in the place; but hearing my mom's accounts it was supposed to be a monstrous house! _I'll be in his turf!_ The thought made me panic even more.

I was about to shout at my mom to leave us so that I can properly cuss my luck when she came up to give me one more hug and then left with Dad. _I guess Rosalie convinced her to leave._ Now the only people left in the church were my-pathetic-self, Rosalie, Alice, the best man- who was the Muscle Guy- and _him_. Rose looked at them and asked to be excused for a moment before leading me to the dressing room.

As soon as the door closed I leaned against it. Rose touched my shoulder and asked softly, "Bell, you okay?"

I couldn't help but whimper, "I don't know, Rose. I don't fucking know anything! Ugh! Why does this type of shit _always_ happen to me? What did I fucking do to deserve _this_? I can't believe it's actually happened!"

Rose looked thoughtful for a moment as if she was preparing to answer my lamentations. "Umm…," before she could utter another syllable and piss me off even more I snapped at her, "I was being rhetoric, Rose! You don't need to tell me how much of shit-luck I have." She nodded sheepishly.

I groaned and whined again, "Oh, God! What do I do now? What should I do now?" After counting ten in my head when she was still silent I looked at her. She had a blank expression on her face as if waiting for my rant to be over. I hissed at her, "Damn it, Rose, this question was _not_ rhetorical. Help me out here. You're my best friend. So, tell me, what should I do now?"

Finally it looked like her brain engines were starting as she said, "Well, you can act as if nothing had happened, and you are meeting him for the first time in your life. Or, you can call him out on his dick-headedness that night… 'Cause let me tell ya, Girl, that was some kiss I saw in there."

"Wait, you think…," before I could finish I was interrupted by Alice. She knocked on the door and said, "Bella, we need to leave now if we want to be on time for the reception." As I face-palmed, Rosalie hollered for Alice to come in and help her make me look human. "_Seeing how Edward did not turn out to be a troll-look-alike, I probably did look like one with all this panicking!_" I thought. Alice came in and jolted me out of my unpleasant thoughts.

Alice took my hands and gushed, "Bella, I can't tell you how happy I am for you guys. I now have a sister!" she squealed. I managed a weak smile in response because I couldn't tell her that to me her super handsome brother was the evil incarnate!

When Alice pronounced my makeup and hair to be immaculate we joined the guys outside the church. There were two cars and five of us. So, _naturally_, Alice proclaimed that in keeping with tradition, the best man and the bridesmaids should take one car leaving the bride and groom- namely me and _him_- to take the other one.

Edward- or Mase, whomever I had married- opened the passenger side door of a shiny silver Volvo for me while Emmett led the girls to a bright red jeep. I didn't say a word to him… in fact I didn't even look at him- as I got in the car. He closed the door behind me and then quickly got in the driver seat to start up the car.

After two minutes of silent driving he started, "Hey, so… listen…" but of course, I decided that exact moment to take Rose's second option and asked him while looking down at my lap without letting him say anything, "Why did you lie?"

He stopped talking and I couldn't help but look up to see his reaction. A slight crease had appeared on his forehead as instead of answering my question he asked, "Lie! When did I lie?"

I huffed and reminded him, "That night at the bar. Your friend called you '_Mase_' but your name is Edward, right?"

His lips quirked upwards and the crease disappeared as he said, "First, he's not my friend. Well, I guess he _is_ my best friend but… he's also my cousin, Emmett. Second, I did _not_ tell you that my name was Mase. So, you can't call me a liar. And, third, Em just likes to push my buttons by calling me by that stupid name. Mase is actually short for Masen."

I guess I really couldn't call him a liar then. _Damn! Why can't he be a liar so that I could be _not attracted_ to him?_ For some unfathomable reason, I wanted to hear his voice again so I asked again, "So, what? You name is Masen?"

He slowed the car down and stopped by the side of the road and held his hand out, smiling that crooked smile again- you know the one that made me want to kiss him and strangle him at the same time? Yeah, that one- and then he said, "Hello. I am Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. It's high time we officially met, I think."

I silently took his hand and felt that weird zing go through me again. I quickly dropped his hand and looked down at my lap again. _This is freaking weird! I mean, I don't know the guy… but we just got married. What am I supposed to say to him?_

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even answer his greeting with a formal one. When he noticed my lack of verbosity he asked a little hesitantly, "So… I guess you are Isabella? But you seemed to prefer Izzie, right?"

Suddenly his question made me mad. If I didn't know him, he certainly didn't know anything about me too. So I narrowed my eyes at the hideous nickname and snapped, "No, you're wrong. Yes, I am Isabella Swan. But I prefer Bella."

He looked stunned at my outburst for a second and then whispered in a voice so low that I had to strain my ears to catch his words, "Hmm, Bella… Bellarina. Looks like mom was right."

Hearing him mumble to himself did it for me. "_I knew it, this guy's fucking mad. That would explain his one-eighty turn in attitude today. I mean which sane person mumbles to himself? This is what I get! A freakishly handsome husband who's completely insane! I'm so gonna kill Charlie…_"

As I was mentally plotting my father's death another horrifying thought struck me, "_Wait a fucking second! Did he just mutter the name 'Bellarina'? That what the little boy in my dreams called me!_" I narrowed my eyes at him and asked slowly, "What did you just say?" He seemed shocked by the fact that I had heard his insane yammering and looked out the windshield, trying to avoid my eyes.

He seemed to think for a moment before saying timidly, "I just said that the name Bella suits you. I like it. It's _way_ better than Izzie." He was still looking anywhere but at me. So, I knew he was lying. But I didn't say anything about it. Because, how can you just label a guy liar and then demand to know whatever the fuck he was thinking when he just said he liked your name? Besides, I didn't want him to think of me as a nagging wife… _yet_.

So, I gave him a nod and looked out the window.

After a few minutes of silence he started saying, "Listen, I had Emmett load your luggage in the trunk of my car from the car your dad brought over. So we'll be able to leave immediately after the function. Alright?"

I looked incredulously at him and ask, "Are you for real? You… you just… ugh! Have you forgotten the way you behaved with me a few nights back? How can you even _expect_ me to go to your home?" I knew I was being a bitch. He had been quite the gentleman since we got inside the car. But can you blame me for retracting the deal I accepted before knowing he was… _him_?

_Mase_ visibly cringed at my accusatory tone and said in a voice that you would use on a cornered animal, "Bella, can I call you Bella?" When I didn't answer him he continued, "Well, Isabella then, listen I know I was a huge jerk to you that night and I can't tell you how sorry I am for that. But will you please give me another chance? How about we make this our official meeting? Please, Isabella. I am just as surprised to see you as you were back there to see me. Will you let me correct myself now?"

I made the mistake of looking at his eyes. Those intense emerald green eyes that had seemed so cold a few days ago now looked hot enough to melt me. They were smoldering, making me feel dizzy. I couldn't make myself look away. I couldn't say '_no_' to him. He blinked after what seemed like an eternity making me realize that I was practically gawking at the guy.

I cleared my throat in an attempt to slow down my racing heart and replied him, "Okay. I will give you a second chance. Because I'm sure my first impression on you was not a good one either. But on one condition." He looked anxiously at me and I broke into a smile, "You have to call me Bella. And I'm sorry for yelling at you just now. Guess my second impression was a bad one too, huh?"

He shook his head and said, "I deserved all that you said. Thank you, Bella. Shall we go join the party in our honor?" The smile playing on his lips made me smile back and I nodded.

He took my hint and sped through the one-oh-one to get to his parents' house- the reception venue. When we reached the place the jeep was already there. As Edward drove towards the big white house I gulped. It was not a monstrosity- it was the most beautiful house I had ever seen. There seemed to be three stories in the house. But its pristine white color gave it a heavenly aura. This house screamed grace and perfection… just like Esme Cullen.

I managed to close my mouth just as the car came to a stop. Edward opened my door and I stepped out of the car. I was surprised to see him behave like a gentleman and not the Neanderthal I met two days ago! He ignored my look of surprise and reached for my hand but at the last moment seemed to think better of it. Instead he gesture to me with his outstretched hand to come with him. I can't say I wasn't a bit disappointed at the loss of the opportunity to hold his hand. But I shrugged the feeling off because it was irrational. I followed our friends and walked beside my _husband_ to the Cullens' backyard to endure the next phase of torture.

**A/N: So… what do you think? **

**I know most of you are a bit disappointed with the chapter lengths and frankly, when I read a story I want longer chapter as well. But between working in lab almost 12hours a day, five days a week on my research, I really don't get much time to write. So the chapter lengths are gonna be limited to 4k words for now I think.**

**One more thing guys, English isn't my first language and has not been my medium of studying until I started university. So I am a bit worried about my language skills. If you find any hideous grammatical errors please let me know so that I can correct them, okay?**

**Now that I have finished my ridiculously long A/N click on the review button and let me know what you thought about the chapter, please?**

**Take care.**

**Ann**


	13. Chapter 13: Seriously… who are you?

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you. Now let's join the wedding celebrations, shall we?**

**Enjoy Chapter-13 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-13: Seriously… who are you?**

**EPOV**

Reaching my parents' house, I opened the car door for Bella and she looked up at me with surprise written all over her face. As if no one had ever done these sorts of things for her. _Well, she'll have to get used to it; because I will treat her like the lady she is. That's what Esme Cullen taught her son after all._ My subconscious smirked at me saying, "_Where did your _gentlemanly_ ways go on Wednesday, shit-head?_" but I tuned the idiot out and led Bella towards the backyard. I found myself reaching for her hand, wanting to hold it to show the whole world that she belonged to me; but at the last moment I thought of how uncomfortable she must be with the situation. So, I digressed and simply decided to walk beside her.

As we walked towards the reception party I thought back at our conversation on the way. Last night with every memory mom had shared with me one thing had became blatantly obvious- Isabella and I had been inseparable since birth until my family had relocated to England.

Today when she told me that she prefers to be called Bella, I remembered the little brunette girl from my dreams and the mystery of _Bellarina_ reminding me of Izzie was explained. This meant mom was right. We _had_ known each other when we were kids. I was happy to find a connection between us besides the one formed by our parents. But I did not want to share my revelation with her just yet. I wanted her to like me as me not the boy who _used to_ be her playmate while she was still in her diapers. So, when she had asked me about my musings, I told her that I thought her name was pretty. The narrowing of her eyes did tell me that she knew I was lying, but I was grateful that she let it go.

Before entering the backyard I offered Bella my arm and she daintily put her hand on the crook of my arm, blushing furiously. We entered the backyard through the flowery arch Alice had put there and Bella gasped. I looked at her to see her wide curious eyes taking everything in.

In truth, the place did look pretty. Alice had worked her ass off with my mother to make the place look like a piece of Eden. Starting with a gigantic white tent decorated with twinkling fairy lights and white flowers, the backyard was beyond recognition. I could even see blue and white paper lanterns hanging overhead lighting up the whole way towards the tent from the driveway.

For a few seconds I mused how on earth little Alice could have reached so far up to hang them but then realized that being planning-freak she would've had arranged for wedding decorators to help with this stuff. Figuring I should thank my sister I was about to call out to her. However, before I could utter a single word, Bella had let go of my arm and was hugging Alice.

I knew Alice already loved Bella yet I was afraid her exuberant spirit would put Bella off. But when I heard Bella say, in a sweet bell-like voice, "Oh, Alice! You really are an awesome sister. It looks so beautiful. Thanks, Allie!" and Alice's resulting squeal, my heart swelled. My wife already loved my sister. "_Yeah, and she probably loves your whole family and just hates your guts- since you played the role of the arrogant bastard that night so well!"_ I internally sighed. I would have to make it up to her.

Hearing Alice's signature squeal the guests started turning towards the entrance and then the clapping started again when they caught our sight. "_Fucking, clapping, Morons! I am in the middle of a life-altering crisis and all you can do is put your hands together and fucking clap?_" I wanted to yell at them but the moment Bella stepped back from Alice and slipped her hand in my arm while smiling shyly at the ground, I couldn't bring myself to utter a single word. I was tongue-tied. A simple touch of her hand calmed me down! _And that so doesn't make you a pussy, Cullen!_ My already over-worked mind yelled at me. But I ignored it. Because, all I could think of was how right it felt to have her beside me- as if her hand was made to fit in mine.

**BPOV**

"_What the fuck is happening to me? I don't even know this guy. But then why was I this comfortable to hold on to his arm- not to mention, in front of so many people? This just isn't like me!_" my mind was racing to figure it out. In the mean time Edward had walked us further in and I could take in the whole back of the house.

The Cullen house was sort of a mansion. The back-wall was not a wall at all; it was completely made of glass. As if it was where Cinderella should live with her Prince Charming! It was the most beautiful house I had ever seen. But the most surprising thing was the backyard- which was serving as the designated reception area; seeing what Alice had done to make it look so magical on such a short time made me give her a hug. _And that got you one step closer to being deaf, you daft!_ My inner bitch didn't appreciate Alice's squeals anymore than I do I guess.

Alice, Rosalie and Emmett led us towards a huge white tent. In the tent there was a dance floor, an open bar and what looked like fifty or so tables with place settings for four! "_Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming that I got teleported into one of those Harry Potter tents!"_ was my first thought. Everything was decorated in white and baby blue colors- because according to Alice those were our wedding colors. _Whatever that meant!_

**-OTC-**

The first half an hour of the party passed in a blur. We had to mingle with the guests- most of whom neither of us knew and most of whom happened to be our parents' friends. _Such a wonderful way to pass the time, isn't it? Thanking strangers for gracing your reception with their presence._

I don't know what I had expected when I gave _almost _carte blanche to my dad with the guest list, but seeing Billy Black sitting by the bar at my wedding was not a part of that expectation. The sight of him made me want to either throw up on Edward or turn back and run as far away from the Black family as possible.

However, before I could choose either option, we heard Billy's voice call my name. I must have cursed out loud because when I looked up helplessly at Edward; one of his eyebrows was arched upwards silently questioning my response. I just shook my head and cursing my innate good manners I led him towards the father of the ass-hole.

When we reached Billy, the old man was sneering at us with a drink in his hand. That moment I hated Billy Black right down to his stupid wheelchair. I tried to control my anger and decided to play my role as part of the happy couple. So I slowly took Edward's hand and entwined my fingers through his trying my best to ignore the constant electric feel of his touch. Then I gave Billy a sickly sweet smile and greeted him, "Hey, Billy, how are you? May I introduce my husband, Dr. Edward Cullen?"

I then turned to Edward, who seemed surprised but pleased at my holding his hand, and continued, "Edward, this is Charlie's _good_ friend, Billy Black." I intentionally put emphasis on the _good friend_ part to make the _Satan's procreator_ understand that he was not my father's _best friend_ anymore. Billy's scowl told me he had caught my hint.

Edward didn't seem to notice the scowl because he leaned forward to shake Billy's hand and then said 'hello' politely. "_See, father-of-Brutus, that's how a gentleman behaves!_" I mentally boasted when a thought crossed my mind, "_Did I really just think of_ Edward Cullen _as a_ gentleman? _Whoa! He must be doing some hoo-doo on me!"_ my frown at the thought must have made Billy think that I was thinking about his Satan of a Son.

He looked up at me with venom in his eyes and said coldly, "Don't worry, Bella. Jacob is not coming here. My son doesn't go anywhere where he is not appreciated. We, the Blacks, are quite proud."

I couldn't help the sarcastic remark that escaped my mouth immediately, "Billy, the last time I checked this was a wedding reception. This is _mine and Edward's_ wedding reception; not a Jacob Black appreciation party. Because, trust me, if it was, I would be the last person to be here." Thankfully, I managed to get it all out without losing my cuss-filter.

I dared not look at Edward's face. "_He must be thinking that Jacob was my ex or some shit!"_ I mentally face-palmed. As I was about to turn around, Billy said, "However, Bella, I cannot say that I am not disappointed in you. Jacob had been your best friend for a long time and now you are treating him like a dirty little secret?" I literally felt one of my veins burst in my brain.

I snapped back with as much spite I could muster while keeping it socially appropriate, "Exactly, Billy. Jacob was my best _friend_. FRIEND, Billy. That was all he ever was. I _never_ said anything otherwise!" My legs were shaking with suppressed anger which Edward, the silent spectator, seemed to notice. He quickly let go of my hand and surprisingly I felt the loss of his warm touch. But before I could look at him to see his expression he wrapped one arm around my waist.

Billy's eyes seemed to zero in where Edward was holding me. Edward however, seemed not to notice Billy's glare and said calmly, "Excuse us, Mr. Black. _My wife_ needs to sit down. She's had a very hectic day. I hope you will stay for dinner." Hearing him call me _his wife_ possessively made my heart do some crazy acrobats which made no sense.

Before, Billy could say anything else Edward had turned us around and led me towards Rosalie and Alice, all the while keeping his firm hold on my waist. I felt him lean towards me and whisper softly in my ear, "Hey, are you okay?"

His breath tickled my ear and I was surprised how good it felt when he sounded so concerned for me. I looked up at him shyly and replied in a similar tone, "Yeah. Sorry about that. The _Blacks_ are kind of fond of bull-shitting."

As soon as the words left my mouth I mentally slapped myself. Now he had an opening to ask me about Jacob! I so didn't want to start explaining that shit in the middle of the party. I felt Edward stiffen slightly and prepared myself to recount the most humiliating moment of my life.

**EPOV**

This was getting ridiculous! I didn't even know the girl and yet I was feeling protective of her. When the wheelchair guy hinted at something about Bella and his son, Jacob, I experienced the first bout of jealousy. I didn't know the Blacks and yet I wanted to get restraining orders against the family so that none of them could come anywhere near my Bella. "_Whoa, Cullen, hold it! MY Bella? Seriously, how can you feel so possessive of someone you just met?_" I mentally chastised myself.

The truth is, when she told me she was okay her voice made me want to hold her in my arms and never let go. But then she uttered that remark about the _Black family_ and gave me an opening to ask her about them.

However, before I could start asking her about it a pale blonde haired guy just swooped in and swept Bella in a hug. "_What the… ?_" before I could tear the blonde's arms off for daring to touch _my_ wife I heard Bella giggle. So she wasn't uncomfortable with his greeting. _As long as she's okay I would try to tolerate him,_ I decided- _try_ being the operative word. But I still didn't like the fact that he could make her giggle while I couldn't.

The guy had _finally_ let go of _my_ Bella and was saying, "So sorry I'm late, sis. I am a shitty brother. I didn't even get to see you walk down the aisle. I'm so sorry." Now I was confused. I thought Bella was an only child. So where did this brother come from? I looked at my news agent or spy, Alice, for answer but she was busy openly gawking at the guy. _Sheesh! The kid has no subtlety!_ Looked like I'd have to find another source for 'Bella-news'.

I turned back to the guy in question and noticed he looked like a male version of Bella's friend, Rosalie. _Hmm… they _have _to be twins!_ Bella's voice cut through my musings as she beamed at the guy and said, "It's ok, Jazz. You are still the best kid brother I could ever ask for. And I'm sure you will get to see Rose walk down the aisle when the time comes."

The guy- _Jazz_, scoffed obnoxiously, "Yeah, right. You really think she's gonna settle for only _one _guy? I don't think polygamy is still approved in our society." Rosalie slapped the guy on the back of his head and hissed, "Shut it, Geek-per!" Jazz just shook his head at her and then looked back at Bella and said, "Well, I gotta say it, Bells, you make a beautiful bride!"

Bella's cheeks became flushed which in turn made me want to touch it to feel the warmth of her. I was so engrossed in my blushing bride I almost missed Jazz's question, "Now, Bells, where is this big time doctor that's trying to steal you away?"

Bella looked at me and blushed again as she said, "Jazz, this is my husband, Edward Cullen. Edward this is Jasper Hale, Rose's kid twin brother and my pseudo brother." I felt a ridiculous gin stretching on my face when I heard her introduce me as _her husband_.

"DUDE!" Jasper _almost_ yelled, looking at me with a huge ass grin, "So, you are my brother-in-law now? Cool!" Then he proceeded to give me a one-armed hug- _you know, the manly ones? Yeah, those-_ because my other arm had already gotten back to its rightful place- around Bella's waist.

I was a bit taken aback by his enthusiasm and replied awkwardly, "Hey. Umm… do I know you? I'm sorry but I can't seem to remember meeting you before."

Jasper opened his mouth to say something but was cut-off by his sister, Rosalie's remonstration, "Jazz, stop making Eddie feel awkward. There's already enough awkwardness here as it is!" I grimaced at the annoying nickname and gave Emmett a death glare. No doubt my smart-ass cousin put her up to this. Rosalie, however didn't acknowledge my grimace and simply said to me, "Edward, we all live in Seattle. So it's only that natural you guys have met in passing or something."

Beside me I heard Bella mutter, "Yeah, probably at a bar… while harassing unsuspecting citizens for getting out of their homes!" I couldn't help but look down and smirk at her. _It seems like she hasn't been able to forget about that encounter. Good, it means I have been on her mind since that meeting._ I was suddenly feeling elated at the thought of her thinking of me.

My elation was short-lived though. Because, Alice seemed unable to accept being ignored any longer. She propelled herself forward and chirped, "Hi, I'm Alice. Since my stupid brother seems to have forgotten his manners I would have to introduce myself. I'm Edward's and this big guy, Emmett's, little sister and Bella's new sister. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jasper Hale. " Emmett rolled his eyes at me at her obvious attempt at flirting.

Jasper, however didn't seem to mind Alice's ill-masked flirtation. Instead, he took her hand and kissed it saying, "The pleasure is all mine, Ma'am." His stupid drawl made me want to punch his face for flirting back at my little sister.

I could feel mine and Emmett's expressions turn hostile as Em took Alice's hand and commanded, "Ed, the dinner is about to be served. We should take our seat at the head table. C'mon, Bro." Any other time I would've given him hell for thinking about food all the time. But now all I wanted to do was take my sister away from Jasper Hale.

I just nodded while still keeping my eyes narrowed on Jasper. I let go of Bella's waist and held out my hand for her. She gave me another one of her shy smiles and took my hand and thus calming me down once again.

**BPOV**

I could see Edward's protective side when Jasper started to flirt with Alice and it was… beyond _hot_! I never thought I would think of someone like this who was not an unattainable celebrity crush. _But then again, you've never met Edward Cullen before,_ I reminded myself. This man was turning my world upside down already!

When Edward led me to the table holding my hand and then proceeded to hold out my chair for me our mothers looked like they were going to burst out with ill-suppressed glee. I secretly rolled my eyes at their match-making skills.

Dinner passed without anymore incident, while Alice had been sandwiched between her brothers to make it impossible for Jasper to so much as look at her without being glared at. After dinner it was time for the speeches.

First to go was Carlisle. He welcomed me into his family and then advised Edward to treat me as the treasure I was. When I saw Edward nod slightly from the corner of my eye I blushed. I was blushing so much today I was scared that my cheeks will be red forever!

Next up was Emmett, Edward's best man. He first hi5ed Edward on having one of the most beautiful women he (Edward) had ever had the good fortune of meeting as his wife. On queue I blushed. As I peeked at him, I saw Edward smirk at me. _Ugh! How can he even make such roguish gesture seem attractive?_ I was brought out of my not-so-chaste thoughts by Emmett's finishing words, "Bella, I hope you've always wanted a big brother. If not, then too bad, because you won't be able to shake me off easily. So, welcome to the family, Li'l Sis!" His words made my eyes well up a little as I offered him a smile.

When Rosalie, my maid of honor, gave her toast, she directed her words at Edward. She openly threatened him that just because I didn't have any brothers did not mean that he won't get his ass kicked if he ever hurt me. After threatening to cause him serious bodily harm she turned and winked at me. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. The panicked expression on Edward's face only made me laugh harder. Emmett's guffaw from Edward's other side made me wonder if Rose had finally gotten to make friends with the Muscle.

After dinner, Alice brought out the two-tiered wedding cake. Edward gripped my hand over the knife and cut it for us. As we were told to feed each other cake for the camera he gave me a smug look. And I, being the immature idiot, wiped the frosting from my hand on his cheek without giving it a second thought. He seemed shocked at the move at first and then slowly a wicked smile spread on his face as he wiped some of the frosting off his cheek and licked his finger clean. I was taken aback with the intense look in his eyes and quickly looked down, blushing furiously.

When a chair was placed in the centre of the dance floor I knew it was the time for the garter ceremony- the time I was dreading the most. During all this time I had managed to shimmy the stupid thing from its original place at my mid-thigh down to my calf.

As everyone started to cheer for Edward to get his head under my dress to get the garter off, he knelt before me. I quickly pulled up my gown slightly to reveal to him that it won't be necessary. Still he didn't move. He looked into my eyes as if silently asking my permission to take it off. How he went from being a smug and cocky jerk to a perfect gentleman was beyond my understanding. I should've said no… for the stunt he put me through with the cake… for saving myself from blushing like a tomato… just… for the heck of it… to see what he did when I declined him.

However, I found myself nodding before I could form the word _no_ to stop him. At my nod he leaned in and took my garter off using his teeth. As his nose brushed my calf, I shivered feeling a jolt of electricity go through my spine. And I found myself asking my racing heart, "_Seriously what is he doing to me?"_

**EPOV**

The moment I knelt down before her and then she revealed her slender pale calf to my eyes, I wanted to brush light kisses along her calf-muscles. After getting the first taste of her lips I was desperate to taste her skin. But I was going to be a gentleman from now on. So I told my treacherous dick to flag down and took off her garter. I did not know just how _hard_ taking off a simple band could be! (Pun totally intended)

When the DJ took on the stage, I politely asked Bella for our first dance and suddenly the brave woman I had seen till now looked scared. She took my proffered hand and reached up to whisper in my ear, "Edward, I can't dance." I couldn't help but smile at her innocent admission.

I kept a smile on my face and tightened my hold on her hand as I replied, "Don't worry, Bella. I can. Just hold on to me and follow my lead. I won't let you fall, I promise." When she gave me a hesitant nod I took her in my arms and led her to the dance floor.

After a few stiff moments, she relaxed in my arms and looked up to give me a shy smile; then she slowly raised her hands to put them around my neck. During the dance we didn't say a word to each other. I was content to simply hold her and breathe in her smell. She smelled like a mixture of flowers and strawberry and something distinctively unique.

All too soon the song ended and my dad approached us to request a dance with her. I squeezed her waist tighter once more before relinquishing her over to my father. She gave me another shy smile before letting go of my hand and taking off with Carlisle.

I couldn't understand her. She had looked like a sexy hell-cat that night- like she was sex personified. But tonight… tonight I had seen her go through so many mood swings! Tonight I had seen her happy, angry, playful, scared, bashful, and now… shy. _Seriously, who is this woman and what the hell is she doing to me?_

**A/N: Thoughts on the reception? I should probably let you guys know that wedding receptions in my country is way different from the US. So I used the small knowledge I have gathered from too much book reading and TV watching to portray the party. Was it a hit or a miss?**

**Let me know your thoughts on the reception and review, please?**

**Untill next time... take care.**

**Ann**


	14. Chapter 14: Step Into My Life

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you. **

**PLEASE READ THE A/N AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER**

**Enjoy Chapter-14 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-14: Step Into My Life**

**BPOV**

After leaving Edward, I had to dance to a _lot_ of people- I slipped- they slipped- we trod on many toes- but none of the dances were as intense as the first one. We had danced only for a few minutes but in that short time I had realized that my husband was a dangerous man.

It's not because he's an axe-murderer or a mafia boss but because he seemed to have an ability to incapacitate me with one single look. He was intolerable when he was being a jack-ass but when he tried to be a gentleman he had the power to render me a speechless, blushing idiot. So I decided, for the sake of my sanity, I had to stay away from him.

The next hour passed in a blur of congratulations, hugs, pats on the back and suddenly I found myself in my sobbing mother's arms. _I guess it's time to go_, I thought as I tried to stem mom's tears. After promising for the fourth time that I would call her every other day, Reneé finally let go of me, only to turn towards Edward.

I was embarrassed by her behavior but Edward took it in a stride. He simply smiled and hugged my mother back- promising her to take good care of me. I couldn't help but wonder, "_If he's so good with my family now, then why was he behaving like a jerk the other night?_"

My thoughts were interrupted by Carlisle, who was standing next to me, whispering, "Bella dear, go to your father. The guy is my best friend; but I swear, he's an idiot if he thinks hiding would spare him from saying goodbye." I offered him a sad smile before going to look for my dad.

Charlie was standing beside a tree when I gently put my hand on his shoulder and called, "Dad?" As he turned hearing me shaky voice, his red-rimmed eyes told me the reason behind his hiding. The sight of my usually nonchalant father's silent tears made my heart clench and I threw myself into his arms choking out a soft, "Oh, Dad! Are you okay?"

He hugged me tightly as he replied in a gruff voice, "Yeah, Bells. I'm fine. You know I have allergic problems."

I shook my head at his antics and said, "Of course, Dad. I love you, Daddy. You are the coolest dad ever. You know that, right?"

Charlie just tightened his hold on me and said after a few seconds, "I know, Kid. I love you too, Bella." Then he sighed and added, "It's just… it's gonna be strange- you not living under my roof."

"Dad, I haven't actually lived under your roof for nearly five years now." I tried to go on to my old remedy for awkward moments- a lame joke.

"That's just semantics and you know it, Kiddo. It's just the realization that from now on you won't come crying to me if you have a nightmare. Or want me to check your closet for the boogieman, you know? It's like my little girl is suddenly growing up!" he croaked.

I looked up at my dad wanting me tell him that I haven't asked him to check under my bed for over a decade now. But the crushed look in his eyes suddenly did make me feel like the little girl he was talking about and I burrowed in his chest. I sniffed and then told him, "Dad, I'm never gonna stop needing you to look out for me. Trust me; I'll always be your little girl, okay?"

Charlie managed a small smile this time as he nodded, "Okay, Kid. You know no matter where you live this will always be your home, right?" I choked out a soft, "Right" before hugging my dad tightly once more and then letting him go.

I felt like I was not only saying goodbye to my parents but my life in Forks too. All these years I had managed to come home for the weekend but now I was going to have a new life, a new job detail. This thought scared me. Because although I had been saying goodbye on every Sunday; this one somehow felt more- permanent.

**EPOV**

Seeing Bella say goodbye to her parents didn't make any sense. It was evident from all the sniffing that both Bella and her dad were crying. I raked my brain but everything pointed out to the fact that Bella didn't live with her parents anymore._ So, it's not like they haven't said goodbye before!_

When my dad gestured me towards Bella and her father, I figured I should say goodbye to Charlie as well. I walked towards them and lightly touched Bella's shoulder. I don't know if she understood it was me or not but she leaned into my touch. This made me smile thinking, "_At least she's not repulsed by me. She _should_ feel comfortable with me._"

My father-in-law nodded to me and then asked Bella to give us a second. She narrowed her eyes at him before complying.

As soon as Bella was out of hearing range I spoke up trying to dispel Charlie's worries just like I had done with Reneé, "Sir, I promise I will take good care of her. She won't ever want for anything."

Charlie gave me a weak smile before saying, "Son, I trust you to do just that. And Edward, trust me when I say if you make her shed _one_ drop of tear you will have to answer to me, the Chief of Police of Forks. Am I clear?"

I gulped. "_Seriously, what's with all the threats? First the best friend threatens me and now daddy-dearest? If you wanna live, you better not fuck this up, Cullen! Thank fuck Bella hasn't told him about our previous encounter!"_ I internally told myself. Then I weakly replied to Charlie's question, "Crystal, Sir."

He seemed to enjoy my near pant-wetting expression and a broad smile stretched across his face as he clapped me on the shoulder saying, "Good. And by the way… you can call me Charlie." I resisted the urge to salute him like a good little soldier and managed to nod.

After our _talk_, Charlie led me towards Bella. She looked up at us with worried eyes and I automatically gave her a grin- happy to see her concerned glance. Then I asked her, "Are you ready?" She gave me her shy smile and nodded, making my pants get a little tighter to see her blush- again._ What I wouldn't give to feel the heat radiating off those blushing cheeks! But I need to make a good impression on her first- make her forget about the ass-wipe she met at the bar._

As I led my bride to my car the _rice shower_ began. I shielded her from it which again earned me a confused glance from her. As if she was confused by my politeness. I vowed to myself that I would change her first impression of me as soon as possible, before getting in the driver's seat. At twilight, we started our long journey towards our new life.

About half an hour into the drive Bella spoke up obviously trying to fill the awkward silence, "Umm… did… ah… did Alice tell you that I… uh… requested a separate bedroom?" Her stammering was so adorable. As soon as the thought passed through my head I mentally chided myself, _"God, Cullen! Could you sound anymore whipped? Try to make her comfortable before you start thinking with your lower head!_"

I took my own advice and tried to calm her down, "Hey, relax. Yeah, Alice did tell me about your _temporary_ request. Your room is ready and waiting for you." She blushed at my emphasis on the living arrangements being temporary and whispered a quiet '_thanks_'.

Another half an hour of awkward silence later I groaned at myself, "_This is getting ridiculous. Why the fuck can't I find any topic to talk to her about? Should I apologize about Wednesday? No, better leave it for when we were not driving. You know safety first and all that! Besides I am a chicken-shit. Umm… got it! Music! I'll use the universal ice-breaker of music! You're a fucking genius, Cullen!_" So, I asked her if she wanted me to put on some music and she shrugged. I took that as a _yes_ and turned on the CD player.

Soon Debussy filled the car. She suddenly looked up at me and asked, "Is that…?" I grimaced; _she must think I have a fixation to _old man _songs… like Em always complains_. Then I replied, "Yeah, it's… Debussy. I don't know if you…"

I was about to offer her to change the track when she quickly turned up the volume a bit and said, "I _do_ know. In fact, _Claire De Lune_ is one of my favorite Debussy pieces." I was surprised by her admission which must have showed on my face. Suddenly her eyes flashed with suppressed anger as she gritted her teeth and said, "What? So, I like classical music. So, what? Sue me!"

I chuckled at her outburst seeing the hell-cat once more and replied cheekily, "You know, seeing that you are the Police Chief's daughter, I don't think suing you would give you enough troubles."

She huffed and turned to look out the window making me feel like a jerk. I tried to salvage our discussion by saying, "It's my favorite too, you know."

She just shrugged and muttered, "Whatever_"_ acting all nonchalant but I swear I could hear a smile in her voice.

We again succumbed to silent driving. However, this time the silence wasn't awkward and I didn't feel the need to break it. When we stopped at a red light I chanced a glance at her and saw the reason for her silence. She must have been really tired after the day's emotional turbulence because she was fast asleep in my passenger seat.

In the sodium street lights she looked so peaceful, so excruciatingly beautiful that I had to thank my lucky stars for granting me with the presence of this goddess in my life. I had never loved anyone other than my family but Bella made me feel _something_ which told me that I may fall in love with her- someday. _Let's just hope she feels the same way about me when she gets to know me. A guy can hope, right?_

**-OTC-**

The rest of the drive passed with Bella's soft breathing and my looking at her face whenever the car stopped. After I had entered my building and parked my car, I was in a fix- Bella was still sleeping. I got out of the car and softly called her name but she was out like a light.

As Alec, the security guard, approached me inspiration struck. Alec stopped in front of me and looked suspiciously at the slumbering form in my car. "_I'm sure he thinks you're Dr. Frankenstein looking forward to mutilating the seemingly dead girl inside your car! Or better yet, Dr. Hannibal Lecter about to feast on your unconscious victim._" I snickered at the thought that it must be quite scary for poor Alec since this was the first time he had seen me with a girl who happens to look unconscious!

He swallowed and refused to meet my eyes as he greeted me, "Good evening, Dr. Cullen. I will need your guest to sign the register before you can take her up. It's in the policies, you see."

I resisted the urge to pull his leg and smiled at him deliberately showing him my teeth. The poor guy actually shuddered! To put him out of his misery I said, "She's not a guest here, Alec. She's going to live here from now on. Just put in the name Mrs. Isabella Cullen and I'll arrange for her to sign the register tomorrow. As you can see my wife is very tired."

Alec's eyes showed instant relief then he seemed to catch the phrase_ my wife_ and his grasshopper-like eyes turned into saucers. _Maybe he was under the impression I was swinging for the other team! That's what happens when you don't bring girls around._ He stammered his congratulation to me. I smirked at him and thanked him before asking him to call for the elevator. I told him to grab his keys to my penthouse as I leaned down to scoop Bella up in my arms.

As I tried to ignore my body's response to Bella's close proximity; Bella, trying to be the bane of my existence, snuggled closer to me and hid her face in my chest. Alec respectfully averted his eyes in the elevator trying to give us privacy while I found myself grinning like a fool.

When we reached at my… _our_ place… I mentally amended; Alec held the door open while I carried my sleeping bride over the threshold. Then without setting her down, I turned to the bashful security guard and said, "Thanks, Alec. Don't worry about the register. I'll have it signed by Mrs. Cullen tomorrow." Alec managed a real smile this time and congratulated me once again before turning to go back to his post.

Suddenly I felt Bella's grip loosen on my shirt before tightening again. Then she let out a shriek, "Edward! What the… ?"

**BPOV**

The ride to Seattle was relatively silent except for our slight argument about my choice of music. The soothing tunes of classical music and the day's exhaustion quickly lulled me to sleep.

Edward was a good driver; I had to give it to him. I mean, seeing that he hadn't driven over a ditch or road bumps during the long-ass drive. So I had no idea when the car had stopped.

I was still in between sleep and awareness when I felt myself suddenly being enveloped by the most sensational smell ever. It was like a perfect blend of honey and sunshine and another- a more masculine scent. The scent made me inhale deeply and draw closer to the source.

A few moments later voices filtered through my sleep induced haze. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed was the fact that I was being held in two strong arms… above the ground. I held my breath and looked up to see the face of my beholder- the handsome devil- my husband.

It sounded like he was talking to someone though my brain didn't seem willing to concentrate on his words. No, I was too busy concentrating on his lips remembering how they felt pressed against mine. I could smell the tantalizing smell from moments before- coming from him.

Suddenly the lips and the smell were too much for me and I had an inexplicable urge to kiss him once more. But the logical part of my brain told me that kissing him would be a very bad idea. So, I did the only other thing I could think of doing- I screamed…

"Edward! What the…?" my shriek brought his eyes on my face and he had the nerve to smile cheekily.

Then as if it was a daily occurrence he said, "Hey, you're awake. Just a minute, please." Before I could tear him a new one he turned to the man he was talking to and thanked him for his help. The man, whose name tag said his name was Alec, nodded to Edward and then almost ran to the elevator.

Then my idiot of a husband smirked at the retreating form of the new comer before looking down at my face and asked, "You were saying, baby?"

I had never liked couples calling each other with terms of endearment but hearing _him_ call me 'Baby' sent a jolt of excitement through me. I quickly looked down to hide my tell-tale blush.

I tried to act stern and asked him, "Would you care to explain why I'm up here?"

He simply shrugged as he replied, "Well, you fell asleep on the way. So I carried you up to our home." When he called his place '_our home_' my heart fluttered, which was silly of me. The urge to kiss him became strong once again so I told myself, "_Stop this nonsense, Swan! If you don't control your stupid hormones you're going to end up molesting him right here._"

To stop myself from doing something stupid I chose my best weapon- sarcasm and glared at him saying, "Oh, really? You know what you should've done? You should've woke me up. That's what _normal_ people do when someone who's sleeping needs to be roused."

His eyes immediately flashed with anger as he shot back, "Ah, silly me! You know what else _normal_ people do, Bella? They usually wake up when someone hollers their names. Believe me I called you but you didn't seem too keen to wake up. So, I _had_ _to_ carry you." He was behaving like a jerk again.

I chastised myself for thinking that he had _wanted_ to carry me over the threshold. "_It isn't a marriage of love. It is a marriage of convenience. So then why am I feeling so rejected by him?_" I asked myself. After I had my stupid emotions in check I loosened my grip on his shirt and softly said, "You can put me down now."

He slowly lower me to my feet and then looked like he was about to say something. But then he closed his mouth and shook his head. Then he sighed and asked me, "Do you want a tour of the house right now or in the morning? You must be tired."

I looked at him and saw that he looked really exhausted. He had gone through the same ordeal as me after all. So I decided to see my new habitat in the morning. I know vengeance dictated that I exploit his exhaustion but I let it go- for now. _I mean he was being a jerk again sure- but I was being a bitch too!_

Edward then proposed that we should probably head to bed and proceeded to take me to see my room. On the way he pointed out the living room, which was left to the foyer and the kitchen and the adjacent dining room. Then he took me towards a staircase which led to the upper level of the house.

"These are all bedrooms and guestrooms. Your room- the one you requested- is this one," he pointed to the second door from the left. Then continued, "The one on your left is mine and my parents' are on your right. The one across from mine is my office and the one across yours is Alice's room."

My head was spinning seeing the huge-ass penthouse. _Whoa! There are a lot of bedrooms here! I wonder if the Cullens all came to live here often._ I snapped back from my musings when I realized Edward was still talking, "… hope you like it. Alice did most of the shopping. So if you don't like anything in there, feel free to blame it on her."

We had stopped in front of my room when Edward offered, "Why don't you go inside and I'll bring up your bags from the car?" I nodded at him and entered my new room.

The room actually looked quite comfy. The walls were a light violet color which made it look soothing rather than the horrifying bright pink I had imagined when I heard Alice helped with it.

The furniture was not ostentatious and actually matched the décor of the room. However the most awesome aspect of my room was the huge book shelf. I would really have to thank Alice for that one. As I looked around the room, I started to unpin my hair. Just as I was running my fingers through my tangled mess Edward knocked on the door.

I opened the door and my breath left me in a whoosh! He had taken off his jacket and bow-tie. Wearing his white dress shirt and dress pants he looked just like the Rude Adonis I had met at the bar few nights ago. He was staring at me with a slack-jaw which reminded me about my hair. _I probably look like Medusa to him!_ I tried to flatten my hair and motioned for him to come inside.

He entered the room and put my bags beside the bed. Then he turned to me and said, "Alice already stocked your closet for you. Is there anything you need?" I shook my head looking down at my feet. Because I was scared if I opened my mouth I would beg him for a goodnight kiss.

I chanced a look at his face trying to distract myself from the thoughts of kissing him. _Big mistake!_ Our eyes locked immediately and I could practically feel the heat radiating from his body. I should have lowered my gaze, I should have stepped back from his close proximity- but my eyes just refused to move away from his hypnotic gaze.

Slowly as if approaching something delicate Edward leaned down and brushed his lips to my forehead. There was _something_ in his gesture that made tears sting my eyes. When he whispered against my skin, "Goodnight, Bellarina," my lips automatically formed the words, "Goodnight, E…dward" I caught myself at the last moment and said his full name.

I didn't think it would be appropriate to use a nickname for a person who was still virtually a stranger to me. Besides, I wasn't quite sure he even knew of our previous friendship. My response seemed to bring him out of a trance and he stiffened. Before I could say anything else he almost ran out of the room. _Now what the hell was that about?_

**EPOV**

I ran away. I fucking ran away from her. As I changed and got in my bed, I still could feel the silky smoothness of her skin, smell her strawberry like scent. That was the first night I dreamt of Bella Cullen- not Isabella Swan or Izzie.

The next morning, when I woke up and my first thought was immediately of Bella; I realized, no matter how far I ran away I would not be able to get her out of my head. I was truly and utterly fucked!

**A/N: Anyone notice the similarities with Breaking Dawn goodbyes? ;-)**

**Before you guys chew my head off for not making them consummate the marriage, let me make myself clear. Bella has agreed to give the man a second chance but that doesn't mean she would hand him over her V-Card without a bit of groveling! Patience is a virtue after all! ;-)**

**IMPORTANT A/N: I HAVE GOOD NEWS AND I HAVE BAD NEWS.**

**BAD NEWS IS I AM GOING TO A WORKSHOP TOMORROW WHERE I WOULD BE DOING PATIENT COUNSELLING FOR THE FIRST TIME! BUT IT'S IN THE REMOTE PART OF MY COUNTRY MEANING NO INTERNET ACCESS. WHICH MEANS… NO UPDATE THIS FRIDAY. I HOPE TO BE BACK BY NEXT TUESDAY… AND POST CHAPTER-15 THEN.**

**NOW THE GOOD NEWS, TO MAKE YOU GUYS STOP POUTING I HAVE PUBLISHED A NEW ONE SHOT CALLED "_Change My Mind_"… IT HAS A LEMON IN IT… BECAUSE ****bobbysgirl1976****MADE ME WANT TO TRY MY HAND AT THAT. THAT'S ****MY FIRST TRY TO WRITE SOMETHING LIKE THAT. GO AHEAD AND READ IT. AND LEAVE ME A REVIEW THERE… OK?**

**Now that my long rambling is over, how about you let me know what you think? Leave a review, please?**

**Until next week.**

**Ann**


	15. Chapter 15: Who The Hell Doesn't Like Co

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: I am back, baby! This chapter was a bit rushed so I am sorry for the shorter length but I just had to get something out to you. The next chapter is going to be 4k+ in length, promise!**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you. Now I introduce you to… Adorableward! ;-)**

**Enjoy Chapter-15 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-15: Who The Hell Doesn't Like Coffee?**

**BPOV**

The next morning I woke up to a beautiful melodious sound- no, it wasn't the chirping of little blue birds, because I'm not Cinder-_fucking_-ella! It was much better than that. It was the velvety smooth voice of my husband right outside of my bedroom door- calling my name, "Bella, are you awake? Bella?" His voice was followed by soft knocking.

I couldn't deny myself the sight of him in the morning. So I got out of bed and opened the door. He was freshly showered with a charming smile on his face. However the moment he took in my appearance his smile dropped and his eyes turned the size of tennis balls. That made me look down at myself and I belatedly realized that I was still in my sleepwear. "_Plus, judging by his horrified expression, my hair must be looking like a crow's nest; fantastic! Way to look inadequate to the Sexy Devil, Bella!"_ I grimaced at myself.

I sighed because this marriage was already looking a bit one-sided to me. There he was looking like a perfect imitation of Adonis and here I stood with crazy hair and ragged t-shirt, looking like a hobo. _Can this get anymore imbalanced?_

**EPOV**

On Sunday morning I was out of bed, shaved and showered by 9 a.m. "_Trying to impress the wife, are we?"_ I disregarded the stupid thoughts telling myself I was doing what is logical.

I went to the corner deli where Em and I usually had our breakfasts to get breakfast items for Bella and myself. Once there, I couldn't figure out what she might like for breakfast seeing the only thing I knew about her is that she liked Gin-and-Tonic. _And that was not something I could offer her at 9 in the morning! _

So I decided to get a bit of everything. Then I got two cups of hot water instead of my usual one so that we could make tea at home. When I got back, I set everything down on the dining table and then went to wake Bella up.

This time I was lucky that Bella heard my voice through the door and I didn't have to break the door down. But then she opened the door and my lucky streak was gone- just like that. I took a sharp breath and pretty sure my eyes were popping out of their sockets as I took in her appearance.

She was the epitome of beauty. She was wearing a ragged green U-Dub t-shirt and blue _short _shorts. Her bed-hair looked like a crow had been nesting there. But still she took my breath away.

After a few heartbeats her cheeks flushed with color and I realized I had been staring- _more like ogling_- at her. "_Like she didn't already think I was creepy enough! I had to look like a thunderstruck idiot!"_ I mentally face-palmed as I quickly looked down and greeted her feet, "Good morning, Bella. Did you sleep well?"

I heard her smile- rather than see it- in her voice, "Good morning, Edward. Yes, I did sleep well. You?"

I grimaced seeing that I couldn't tell her, "_Yes, Bella, I did. In my sleep I dreamed of you. It was a great dream. But I had to wake up before dream-Edward could do something to dream- Bella for which neither of us are ready yet! So, I actually woke up with a boner, thanks to you!_"

"_Nope, cannot do that now, Cullen,_" So instead I told her feet, "Yeah, me too. Umm… why don't you freshen up? Then we can have breakfast and I can give you the tour of the house?"

I decided to peek at her and saw her nod as she said, "Sure. I'll just be fifteen minutes, okay?"

That's a very reasonable amount of time- compared to what my sister usually takes- so I agreed, "Okay. When you're done just come get me in my room." Another nod from her and I left her to get ready.

Once I was in my room I sat on my leather couch and tried reading the medical journal dad had given me last week. But no matter how hard I tried I couldn't concentrate on the damn article about electrode implantation for Parkinsonism. No, all my thoughts were focused on the fact that Bella was in the shower, naked, with not a stitch on her- in the next room.

I had to adjust myself in my jeans... three times. _If it gets any worse I will have to give up wearing jeans and wear fucking slacks like old dudes!_

When I heard a timid knock on my door I jumped off the couch as if electrocuted- checked my pants' situation- and then opened the door. My first thought after I saw Bella outside my room was, "_Goodbye, jeans! We had a good running. But this girl is gonna make me wear those damn old man pants from now on!"_ Because, ladies and gentlemen, it just got worse.

If Bella in an old, ratty t-shirt was bad; Bella in her v-neck cream colored top and black tight jeans was a thousand times worse. Her mahogany hair cascaded down her back making her look like an unearthly beauty.

When I stood there tongue-tied she blushed and the sight of her blush spreading down her throat and collarbone almost made me reach out to touch her cheeks. I controlled myself with _great difficulty_- I might add- and cleared my throat. Before I made more of an idiot of myself I quickly asked her, "Breakfast?" she nodded and let me lead her downstairs.

**-OTC-**

As soon as Bella saw the food-laden table she whirled round to face me, "Edward, do you think you married a hippopotamus? Or perhaps a _Biggest Loser_ champion?" I was confused at her sudden outburst. Because I _knew_ I hadn't done anything this time!

I immediately went into defensive mode and exclaimed, "What? I haven't called you fat! Why would you say something like that?"

She narrowed her eyes at me and said, "Well, there's enough food to feed an entire platoon of soldiers. Did you honestly think I would eat all of it?"

Finally I understood the reason for her freak out and tried to smile as I said, "Bella, calm down. I got a bit of everything because I had no idea what you would like for breakfast. Don't worry about the food. Since it's already quarter to eleven, we'll have a brunch and then I'll take the leftovers to Emmett's."

Her eyes became wide as she gasped, "You are gonna haul all these food to Emmett's place? Are you that fond of menial labor or something?" I had to smother a smile. It felt good to know that even in her anger she seemed to care for me- just a little bit.

I tried to ease her mind, "It's alright. Em lives in the penthouse right across the hall. So it's really not gonna be a problem." She finally calmed down and offered me a soft 'Okay'. I grinned at her and motioned towards the food, "Shall we?" She gave me her shy smile and sat down as I pulled out her chair for her.

Bella settled for pancakes and I for omelets. Some time into brunch I remembered the tea and got up. I dunked one tea bag in each cup and then put one cup in front of Bella. I motioned towards the sugar sachets and said, "I usually drink it black. But help yourself."

Bella looked down at the cup first and then towards the sugar sachets with a puzzled expression. Then her head shot up and she looked dumbfounded as she asked me, "You don't… I mean you _don't_ drink coffee?"

I just shook my head a _no_. In Oxford, there used to be Breakfast Tea in the dining hall and I started drinking it there. Since it gave me the caffeine boost I needed I never felt the need to try some other form of caffeinated drink. However Bella's dumbfounded look told me it was an unthinkable concept to her.

She blinked at me before asking, "You drink _black_ tea? And serve it with small sugar sachets?" I nodded scared of her expression by then.

When she continued to look at me with her mouth agape I explained, "Yeah. I get hot water with my breakfast every morning. I had mom buy me the tea bags and sugar sachets a few weeks back. So I just have to dip a tea bag in the water and make my tea."

"Wait! You _buy_ hot water? For tea? Are you real?" Bella's expression indicated I had just admitted that I functioned without a brain! I nodded warily again. _Seriously, what was the big deal?_

"Do you get all take-out meals every day?" I nodded in response to her question.

"Do you even have a kitchen?" now she looked amused.

I narrowed my eyes at her and huffed, "Of course, I do. It's fully furnished with all types of cooking stuff- in case you're wondering. I just don't cook."

"Edward, you _buy_ hot _water_. And live on take-outs. Are you sure the fact is that you _don't_ cook or _can't_ cook?" she was openly laughing at me now.

"Are you always such a smart-ass?" I asked rather insolently. She just choked out another laughter as she shook her head, "No, Dr. Cullen. You just seem to bring out the best in me." She batted her eyelashes mischievously.

Her playfulness made my brooding impossible and made me smile. I joined in her teasing and asked, "Oh, really, Mrs. Cullen? That's such an honor to me then."

Bella's laughter immediately stopped. I didn't realize what I did to make her uncomfortable and asked, "Bella? What is it?" she looked down and her cheeks flamed.

"Sorry, Edward. I just didn't expect to be called _Mrs. Cullen_. It's such a foreign concept to me. So the name just caught me off guard." She looked sheepishly at me. I nodded at her knowing that we both needed time to get used to this.

I decided to change the subject and asked her a question that had been bugging me the moment I heard about the discussion between our parents regarding our marriage.

"Bella, you are not unhappy with this marriage thing, are you?" I held my breath waiting for her answer.

"No, Edward. I'm not unhappy," she replied slowly, "I just would have liked to have a chance to get to know my fiancée before tying the knot. Why? Are you unhappy?" she finished anxiously. I quickly shook my head trying to wipe the worry from her face.

Then I decided to ask the next important question, "No, Bella. Not at all. I just wanted to make sure if you wanted to give _us_ a try. Do you?"

Then she looked into my eyes and replied, "I do, Edward." Her reply made me want to break into a jig.

A goofy grin split my face in two as I said, "Good. I do too." She smiled and I continued, "As for time, we have all our lives to get to know each other. We can start whenever you like."

She gave me her shy smile and said, "I'd like that." Then she made a face and asked, "You don't… umm… have a girlfriend or anything, do you?"

I shook my head and gave her the shorter version- not yet ready to let her know about all the gory details- and said, "No. I had one when I was in high school but it ended badly. That put me off the whole dating thing."

"Oh!" _That's it? That's all she has to say? Well if she doesn't ask I won't say._ I decided.

So instead I asked her, "What about you?"

My question made her shake her head then snort- in a cute way, not like the gross way I do- and then she said, "Nope. For some unknown reason having a gun-carrying police chief as a father seems to scare guys off! I have no idea why that is though!" her tone was teasing but I could not join in her amusement. Because I, myself had seen just how scary her father could be the night before.

After we cleaned up the table- meaning throw away the waste in the trash bag and packed the leftovers up for Emmett- I took Bella on the promised tour of the house. I wanted her to feel at home there- because it was going to be her home- for however long she wanted.

She liked the family room, saying that it'll be a cozy hangout for the family when the holidays come; openly laughed at the game room then teased me about myself and Em being big babies; if all those video games were for us. However when I took her to see the library she went radio silent.

I was very fond of my library. The first requisite for me while mom was looking for a place for me was it must have a high ceilinged room that could hold my constantly growing pile of medical and music books. Since moving in I had spent days in ordering and reordering the books in this room.

The moment Alice had told me about Bella's fondness for reading I had wanted to bring her here to show my huge book collection. But I didn't expect her to just stop and stare. _Maybe she thinks I'm a geek now? Oh who the hell are you kidding, Cullen? You are the geek of the family and she should know that!_

I wanted to slap my jackass subconscious and tried to call Bella's attention to judge her reaction, "Bella?"

"Hmm…" she moaned, she _fucking_ moaned- not taking her eyes off the floor to ceiling shelves. I tried to control my lower body's response to the sound and managed to choke out, "Bella, what do you think?"

She finally tore her gaze from the books, looked at me, smiled and then… threw herself in my arms- hugging me tightly.

"Oh my God, Edward! I _love_ it! I marry you and get to live in a house full of books? This is great- no- this is _awesome_!" I could register the awestruck tone of her voice- but barely- her words bypassing my brain altogether. Because the only thing I could focus on was that Bella was hugging me- and I was hugging her back! _I was a lucky bastard!_

When I failed to produce a reply of equal enthusiasm Bella seemed to notice the fact that we were locked in an embrace. She quickly let go of me as if stung by an invisible force field and took a step back refusing to meet my eyes.

I could hear her embarrassment in her voice when she said, "Shit! I'm sorry, Edward. I was just too excited. It's just that… I love reading. You must think of me as a nerd now, huh?"

I reached out not able to resist touching her anymore and nudged her chin with my knuckles and tried to ease her mind, "Hey, it's okay. If you are a nerd, I'm a geek. We should be the dorkiest couple ever, right? Besides, since we're married and all that… you should be able to hug your husband if you want to." My remark managed to bring a smile on her face.

She looked up at me and asked shyly, "Whenever?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I nodded, "Whenever, wherever and for whatever reason you see fit. 24x7 hugging permission granted." I smirked at her.

"Okay." She hesitated for a beat before adding, "You have the same permission then."

"Thank you." Then I proceeded to give her a hug just to hear her laughter once again. If this is what being married was like- I didn't mind being married... to Bella. I mean it couldn't get any worse, right?

**A/N: So what do you think? Isn't he just adorable?**

**Let me know your thoughts and review, please?**

**Until next time… take care.**

**Ann**


	16. Chapter 16: Grocery Shopping and Cereal

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters. I just have a liking for Froot Loops and Cheese. ;-)**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you. As promised you get a 4k+ chapter.**

**PLEASE READ THE A/N IN THE END OF THE CHAPTER.**

**Enjoy Chapter-16!**

**Chapter-16: Grocery Shopping and Cereal Boxes**

**BPOV**

After brunch and the house-tour I decided to go to my old place to collect some of my remaining stuff and my truck. Edward offered to drive me there before taking the leftover food to his cousin; but I declined. After all I could walk down two blocks!

When I finally got him to agree, he handed me a key hanging from a C-shaped key-chain. Seeing my questioning look he tried to explain saying, "You'll need the house key to get in when you get back. The 'C' in the key-chain stands for Cullen. We all have them. You are one now, and so now you have one too."

"_Really? Custom-made key-chains? How rich are you guys?" _is what I wanted to say but instead decided to drop it for now. So, I just replied lamely, "Oh, okay then."

I was about to open the front door when Edward called out, "Bella, on your way out could you please sign the register for the security? Once you do it Alec won't bother us anymore." _Hmm… I guess that's why the security guy was up here last night!_

I said '_ok'_ but before taking two more steps I had to stop myself, "Hey, Edward?"

"Yes?"

"I don't like having take-outs daily. So, do you think we can get some groceries in here? Then I could make us something to eat in your _fully-furnished_ kitchen?" I teased him.

He scowled at me before his expression turned into one of shock and he asked, "You can cook?"

"Yeah. I _can_ cook. And more importantly, I love cooking."

Then his lips turned up to form a beautiful smile as he nodded and said, "Okay. Come back by four and we'll go grocery shopping." _Wait, why the fuck am I thinking his smile beautiful? Guys don't like being called beautiful, do they?_ I stopped my thoughts about male-beauty and focused on the word I hated most- shopping.

I tried not to grimace at the thought of going shopping as I agreed. Before I could reach the door Edward called me back- again. _It's as if he doesn't want me to leave. But that would be crazy, right?_ I rolled my eyes at myself before turning to face him.

"Umm… Bella? Here." He extended his hand towards me palm-up and sitting on his palm was an iphone. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and looked at him waiting for an explanation. He smiled sheepishly and said, "I think it will be a good idea to have each other's numbers, right? Just in case?" That didn't sound unreasonable and so I nodded for him to continue, "So, why don't you program yours in mine and send yourself a text message so that you'll have my number as well?"

I took the phone and entered my number in his contact list. I put it under _Bella_ and then sent myself a blank text message from him and returned his phone. Then I took my phone out of my purse and saved his number under the name _Mase_. I must have been smiling goofily because he suddenly cleared his throat making me look up at him.

"Well, I guess that's about it," he started before pausing for a beat then continued, "Oh, and the elevator? The PH button is for our floor. It's for Penthouse." _PH? Seriously? So what, you live in an acidic or basic place?_ My-sarcastic-self wanted to retort but I suppressed the urge not wanting him to think of me as a bitch.

So I just said an 'Okay' and when he didn't say anything else I said, "Guess I'll see you at about four then. Bye, Edward."

This time I was almost out of the door before he answered— "Bye… Bellarina."

The last word was spoken so softly that if I hadn't turned to look at him- more specifically his mouth (_Totally perverted behavior! I know but couldn't help it!_)- I wouldn't have caught it. I filed the use of that name once again for future questioning and closed the door behind me.

**-OTC-**

While I was in the elevator, I called Rose to let her know that I was coming to see her. Just as I got off the elevator and finished wrapping up the call the security guard from last night approached me. I avoided meeting his eyes feeling embarrassed that he had seen me in Edward's arms the night before.

However he was professional when he said, "Mrs. Cullen, it's nice to meet you, Ma'am. I am Alec. I'll be the security detail here from 12 midnight to 12 noon. Dr. Cullen told me to get you to sign the register today. So…" he held out a register book for me. I took it and saw the name Mrs. Isabella Cullen already written there. I signed next to it and returned the book to Alec.

A sudden thought struck me. _What if Edward didn't have girlfriends but had one-night stands instead? Who better to provide that information to me than the security guy? Be polite to him, Bell. You don't know when you might need him._ So I politely greeted him, "Nice to meet you too, Alec. I gotta go now but we'll talk later, okay?"

He seemed puzzled but said _okay_ before walking off to his post.

**-OTC-**

The walk to my old place was pleasant since it wasn't raining after what seemed like forever! My truck was parked in the lot in my spot. I threw a smile at the thing and went up to the house. I used my old key to get in before hollering for my friend, "Rose! You in your room?" Rosalie ran out of her room and quickly hugged me before tugging my hand.

"Bell! How are you, girl? C'mon let's sit then tell me EVERYTHING." We both curled up on the couch, facing each other before she prodded me again, "Okay, so… spill the beans."

I stiffened. What to tell her, that my husband didn't want me _that way_ on our wedding night? I sighed and asked her, "What do you want to know, Rose?"

Rosalie poked me in the ribs and yelled, "Isabella Marie, stop being evasive! I want every detail. How was it? Did it hurt? How long did the first time take? How many times did you do it? How many positions?" her rapid-fire questions slowed down before she narrowed her eyes at me, "Wait, you didn't walk funny. Last night was your first time, right? So… aren't you… sore?" I blushed and looked down at my hands praying the ground would open up and swallow me.

When my prayer remained unanswered I whispered, "Rose, it's not like that with us. We didn't… _do anything_." I was hoping she would've missed my soft spoken confession but of course her bat-like hearing caught on the words.

"What the fuck, Bell? He must be more stupid than he looks. I swear, dude, you looked so gorgeous yesterday that even I considered turning lesbian just for you!" When I still refused to meet her eyes she continued softly, "Tell me exactly what happened after you left the reception, Bella. I need to find out if I should make him grovel at your feet." I finally peeked through my hair-curtain and decided to give her the concise version.

"Umm… he drove us back to Seattle. Then took me to his place and showed me to my room. Then he wished me a goodnight and went to his room to sleep. This morning he got like every breakfast item conceivable to man. We had brunch, he gave me a key to his place, we exchanged our numbers and now I'm here and he's supposed to go see his cousin. That's about it, really," I finished in one breath.

Rosalie sat silently staring at me open-mouthed for what must have been a few minutes but to me it felt like a freaking day! When I couldn't take it anymore I snapped at her, "Hale, are you gonna sit gaping like a fucking fish or are you gonna say something?"

She shut her mouth closed and then opened again saying, "Ok, ok, I'm talking. No need to bitch-slap me, Swan. You guys are _so complicated_! I was just trying to figure the situation out."

"What the fuck is there to figure out? He married me to get his family off his back same as me. But he doesn't want me as anything other than a flat-mate. It's simple. I feel exactly the same way." I tried to hide the hurt from my voice. Weird thing is, last night I was so overwhelmed with everything it didn't feel like a rejection but now… _But, you are the one who asked for a separate bedroom, remember?_ My thoughts were contradicting each-other.

"No, B. It's _not_ simple. It's weird, it's awkward, maybe it's a bit fucked-up even, but it's not simple. I saw how he looked at you that night at the bar and yesterday while saying the vows. And let's not forget _that kiss_… he definitely wants you." She sounded so sure of her estimations that it made me even more aggravated.

"Oh, yeah?" I challenged, "If he's so attracted to me then why he didn't even give me a proper goodnight kiss? He just barely brushed his lips to my forehead before running away like I was holding a lighter under his ass. Go ahead and make sense of that! Come on, Hale, let's hear your theory." I didn't know why I was getting so riled up but I was so far gone that I didn't even care that I was shouting at my best friend for something that wasn't her fault.

Rose ignored my crazy ramblings and calmly replied, "I don't know, B. At this point I can offer you two _theories_. It's either he has time-traveled from early 1900s to fulfill your Harlequin fantasies or he's a celibate. Though personally, I think he'll be of the first group, you know like your regency romance heroes?" She winked at me making me crack a smile.

"I don't think he time-traveled, seeing that he has a whole family to back up his story. And knowing my luck, I will be the _lucky_ virgin that ends up married to a celibate guy." I tried to joke.

Rose wrapped her arm around my shoulders and proceeded to scold me in the caring way only your best friend can, "Hold it right there, Swan. Don't ever say stuff like that. You are my soul sister. So you are too hard not to love. Trust me, he's not gonna ignore a babe like you. Even if he_ is_ celibate, having you around is bound to lead him towards the dark path of sexual temptations, sister." She winked at me making me sigh. Secretly though I hoped she was right.

**EPOV**

"Em, seriously bro, chew slower. You're gonna have an asphyxiation. The foods are inanimate. So they're not gonna run away from you." My warning fell on deaf ears as my dear cousin just stopped long enough to spare me a glance before going back to stuffing his face with waffles.

When he finally had swallowed his food he turns back to me and says, "I know these are inanimate but your wife isn't. And if you don't grow the balls to do her soon she may run away. Dude, I don't believe in these love-shit. So according to me anything that binds a chick to a guy is sex."

I growled at him. It was hard enough for me to see how awkward she felt around me, I didn't want to think of her leaving me. I raked my fingers through my hair before saying, "I don't know what to do, Em. I can't deny the fact that I want her. But I have no idea if she even likes me _that _way or not. I mean she asked for a separate room for fuck's sake!"

Emmett swallowed another mouthful of food before exclaiming, "Dude, are you blind? Should I call Uncle Carlisle to get you a glass eye or something? Did you not see how she was looking at you last week and then again yesterday? She wants you, Bro. She might not have wanted Edward Cullen, but you- she definitely wants." I couldn't understand head or tail of his convoluted logic.

So I shouted back, "What? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, EMMETT! STOP STUFFING YOUR FACE AND EXPLAIN YOUR LITTLE SPEECH."

He looked startled at my outburst and then snickered, "You know, Ed, I'm still one year older than you. And I don't really appreciate that tone of yours."

I threw up my hands in the air in frustration, "EMMETT McCarty! WILL YOU JUST SPIT IT OUT?" This time he stopped eating and looked serious.

Then he sneered at me, "Well, Eddie-boy, she didn't _know_ Edward Cullen. So she asked for a separate room _then_ thinking you are a creep. But then that night at the bar at least she had seen your ugly mug. So, go ahead and try getting cozy with her. Get some feelers out. If you're not boning her yet, at least show her that you can be a better man than that shirt-obsessed jackass she met at the bar."

Emmett's reminder made me feel ashamed for my behavior towards her once again. Suddenly I recalled her shocked expressions when I had opened her door for her or held out her chair. _She must still think I'm an arrogant idiot she thought of me at first!_ The moment the realization hit me I swore to myself that I would show her that I was indeed a well-mannered gentleman before I _tried to bone her_- according to Em's crude words.

**-OTC-**

After a few games of _Guitar Hero_, in which I _buried_ Em- by the way, I figured I should get back home. It was quarter to four and I wanted to be there when Bella got back. Em said he wanted to come with me to meet Bella properly and I agreed. Because to me Emmett was not only my cousin- he was my best friend and sometimes even a big brother; so Bella should know him as well.

When we looked out the door, Bella was just walking inside our home. "Bella," I called. She turned around to look at me and gave me a smile and suddenly I felt like I could breathe again for the first time since she had left this morning. _This is getting too creepy for you, Cullen. How can you even miss someone you pretty much don't know?_ I chastised myself.

Bella started to greet me, "Hey! Ohh…" but her words cut-off when my giant of a cousin scooped her up in a bone crushing hug.

"BabyBell," his voice boomed loudly through the deserted hallway, "How are you doing, Li'l Sis?" I was about to scold him for man-handling my wife when I heard Bella giggle. God! She looked so happy and care-free at that moment! I made another promise to myself that I would make her smile like that- a lot.

"Emmett," she gasped, "It's good to see you too, big brother." Finally the buffoon had let her go. They were both grinning at their greetings and I couldn't help but laugh with them like an idiot. After getting her breathing under control Bella asked Emmett, "Wait, what did you call me?"

Emmett shrugged before explaining, "BabyBell… you know because you're Bella and since last night you have been granted the privilege of being my baby sister… so that makes you- BabyBell."

Bella snorted in her cute way and exclaimed, "That is _so_ cheesy!" Her reaction ignited my recently-discovered jealousy. _When I called her Bellarina last night, she looked shocked; but when Emmett gives her a nickname she finds it cheesy? She's _my wife_ for crying out loud! I'm the only one who should be allowed to be cheesy with her, damn it!_ I was so engrossed in my moping I didn't see the dumb-ass look Em gave her. But she noticed and tried to explain—

"You don't know Babybel is a type of cheese?" she quirked an eyebrow at us. I finally cracked a smile after getting the _cheesy_ joke.

Emmett seemed to catch on as well as he said, "Really? That's cool then, I guess. I don't mind being cheesy for calling you that, sis. A-n-y-w-h-o, I'm gonna leave you two to do whatever married people are _supposed_ to do. Have fun, Bro." The fucker winked at me.

"Bye, Emmett," we both said at the same time. That paired with the married people hint Em just dropped brought back all the awkwardness from before. As we got inside the house, I kept raking my brain for any conversation-starter when Bella asked me, "Did Esme decorate Emmett's place like she did yours?"

For some reason I got irritated when she called it _my_ place. _I had given her a fucking key, hadn't I?_ So, I kind of snapped at her, "It's _our_ place now, not just mine. It's your home now, too."

Looking at her I saw her smile vanish and turn into shock, I silently cursed myself for my irrational anger at her words. I counted one to ten in my head before saying softly, "Bella, this is your home now. I want you to feel comfortable here. If we are going to try to work on an '_us_' then you should feel comfortable in my space, just like I should in yours…" when she didn't respond I continued, "And yes, mom decorated both of the penthouses. Emmett may not be their own but my parents never discriminated between Emmett, Alice and me."

After a few beats she mumbled an '_okay'_ making me look at her face- _Big mistake, Cullen!_ She was biting her lower lip while looking at me from beneath her eyelashes. The sight suddenly reminded me how _good_ her lips felt moving against mine. And then the urge to bite that lip myself to taste her once again engulfed me.

I tried to control my stupid impulse and said in a strained voice, "You said you wanted to go grocery shopping. You ready to go now?"

She gave me a small smile at the subject change before saying, "I… ah… wanted to freshen up a bit before leaving." I nod and move aside to let her go to her room. As she climbed up the stairs I could not help but look at the sway of her hips and wish myself luck because seeing the way she was altering my life already- I felt like I'm gonna need all the luck I could muster if I wanted to survive this girl.

**BPOV**

After ten minutes of replayingg the whole talk about this place being my home now, I was ready to go shopping. We didn't acknowledge the talk when we saw each other again. As we walked out of the apartment Edward hesitated for a bit then slowly placed one hand on my lower back to guide me inside the elevator.

I tried to act like I didn't notice it but all my nerves were hyper-aware of the fact that he was touching me. That strange tingling from yesterday was still there whenever our skins came in contact.

When we got to his car he opened the passenger side door for me catching me off-guard yet again with his sudden change in attitude. I decided that it was time I brought this up and asked him once we're out on the street, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

His response was immediate, "Of course. You can ask me anything, Bella."

I tried phrasing the question without making him sound like a total tool, "Umm… what's up with the door opening and other stuff? I mean I understand that you had to do it yesterday to impress people and everything; but we're alone now. So, why do you do it?" Edward looked offended at my question and stiffly answered—

"Bella, I wasn't trying to impress _anyone_. My mother raised me to be a gentleman. If my doing this stuff bothers you then… you'll just have to get used to it."

"Oh! Right…" he grinned smugly at my seemingly assenting with him before I continued, "I wonder though… where did the_ gentleman_ go on last Wednesday?" His grin turned into a scowl as he huffed.

"Listen, I am sorry I was so rude to you that night. But I had my reasons. I will tell you one day." He said mysteriously.

"You will?" I couldn't hide the surprise from my voice. I didn't expect _Mase_ to openly offer an explanation.

"Why Mrs. Cullen, you sound truly surprised!" he smirked at my expression before turning the engine off, "Come on, we're here."

I sat gaping at him thinking, "_How the hell does he shift his mood so fast? Maybe he has ADD?_"

**-OTC-**

Edward opened my car door and led me towards the entrance of the supermarket all the while touching my lower back. When we got in I quickly grabbed a shopping cart and handed it to him telling him to make himself useful before going to the frozen foods aisle.

The first things I picked up were hot pockets and pop tarts knowing that we both will need quick breakfasts most days. Edward eyed them suspiciously before asking what those were. When I explained to him that those were quick meals he looked confused and pointed out that if I wanted a quick meal I should just get take-outs, making me laugh. He had an innocence to him that made me think of him as adorable.

Shopping was going smoothly with me dropping stuff on the cart and Edward pushing it dutifully beside me. _A girl can get used to it!_ Just as the thought crossed my mind we reached our last stop- the cereal aisle.

I picked up my usual Froot Loops and placed it on the cart. Suddenly Edward decided that he had been far too tolerable till that point and unleashed his jerk-self once again. He picked the box up and replaced it on the shelf making me whisper-yell, "Hey, hey, what do you think you are doing?"

"Nothing," he shrugged and replaced _my _Froot Loops with Lucky Charms!

"Why the hell would you replace the cereal?" I asked getting angry by the second. _Nobody… NOBODY messes with my Froot Loops!_

"Hmm… let's see… oh, yeah… because I like Lucky Charms." He replied. _God! He was so infuriating!_

"Well, I happen to _love_ Froot Loops!" I actually stomped my foot in fury.

"Exactly… those are _girly stuff_," he smirked. _Oh, he did not just say that! How dare he?_

I took a deep breath, about to continue shouting till I could get my point through his stupid head; but a storekeeper came up at that moment to see what the commotion was about. So, I had to let it go… for now, but not before picking up my Froot Loops and placing it on the cart beside his Lucky Charms.

I glanced at Edward and saw that he was shaking his head. Then he caught me eyes and we both burst into laughter at our antics.

At the counter Edward went into _husband mode_- saying that since I get to cook he gets to pay for grocery- and paid for everything- including my Froot Loops.

On the way back I realized that the man sitting beside me maybe an arrogant jerk sometimes but he could also be fun and cute when he was not. And most importantly- I did enjoy shopping with him. That was something I never thought I'd admit to myself- me enjoying shopping. However, I suspected that the _enjoyment_ part was not due to the shopping itself but the company I had… and that scared the shit out of me!

**EPOV**

When we were kids mom used to take Emmett and Alice to the grocery store with her leaving me to solve the daily crossword puzzles with dad. So I can't say I had gone grocery shopping before. But I had to say that my first experience at grocery shopping was… fun. Though I didn't understand why Bella had to buy all those _raw_ stuff but… I liked hanging out with her.

After we got back home we were both tired and seeing as we both had work in the morning I decided to spare Bella cooking-duty and ordered Chinese. We had dinner on the living room couch- watching random TV… another first for me- due to Bella's insistence.

When we had clear up the take-out bags, Bella hugged me goodnight and I, being the impulsive idiot, kissed her on the cheek- startling both her and myself. It was another awkward goodnight before scampering off to our rooms after that.

As I laid there on my huge-ass bed I recalled my day and it hit me that it was the first time I had so much fun with anyone outside my family. I had to admit to myself- maybe being married to Bella won't be _that_ hard!

**A/N: Hmm… it's been calm for some time, don't you think? Maybe it'll be followed by a storm soon? ;-)**

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT**

**A COMMUNITY NAMED 'REPORTABLE LEMONS' HAVE LISTED MY O/S _CHANGE MY MIND_ SAYING IT EXCEEDED THE M RATING SO I HAVE PUBLISHED THE STORY IN TheWritersCoffeeShop IN CASE IT GETS REMOVED FROM FFN.**

**NOW I HAVE STARTED PUBLISHING OTC IN THAT SITE AS WELL BECAUSE WHEN THINGS GETS HEATED IN THIS ONE I DON'T WANT TO WRITE A WATERED DOWN VERSION OF IT. DON'T WORRY I WILL KEEP POSTING IN BOTH FFN AND TWCS. IT'S JUST A PRECAUTION IN CASE THEY REPORT OTC AS WELL.**

**Another thing, I have opened a facebook account under the name TwiAddict Anne. Come find me there- if you want. :-)**

**Let me know your thoughts and review!**

**Take care.**

**Ann**


	17. Chapter 17: Strike Two

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you. Shall we meet some new people now?**

**By the way, anyone noticed the change in the cover image for OTC?**

**Enjoy Chapter-17 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-17: Strike Two**

**BPOV**

Monday morning I got up early- not because I wanted to impress _anyone_- because I wanted to fix breakfast for myself and… since he paid for all the grocery, for Edward too.

While Edward's tea was boiling, I let my mind wander to trifling matters- namely the goodnight kiss from last night. _Yeah, right! A _trifling_ matter, is it? That's why you are blushing like a cherry recalling the sensation _his_ kiss caused, aren't you?_ I cut off my inner ramblings because even I knew I was starting to feel something when I was near him.

I was brought back from my happy memory by the voice of my adonis-and-maybe-not-so-rude husband, "Bella? Why are you up so early? I was just about to go get breakfasts. What do you want to eat?" He looked so adorable scratching his head being all confused in the morning.

"Good morning to you too, Tea-drinker," I teased him, "You don't need to get breakfast. I got it all here. Go take a sit and I'll set the table." He looked startled for a second before his face split in half with a boyish grin making me grin back as well.

"You made breakfast for me? Damn! Em's gonna be _so_ jealous!" he exclaimed excitedly as I brought cereal, milk, omelets and tea to the table. When I placed his beloved Lucky Charms on the table he smirked at me before digging in.

He was behaving like a little boy! It made me wonder since how long had he been surviving on take-outs! _I have to ask him sometime!_ When he exclaimed that my tea was better than the one he usually had I had to roll my eyes. _Tough competition! Beating black tea made from teabags!_

Soon Edward left saying he wanted to go in early on his first day. I sighed at the idea of Edward in scrubs._ If I'm lucky he may forget to remove them before coming home!_

I mentally slapped myself to stop day-dreaming about a _certain_ doctor and told myself to get a move on or else I would be late for work. It may not be my first day but it's my first time working under the new doctor and I didn't want him to think I was a slacker.

**-OTC-**

I quickly threw on my usual work attire of jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt and went down to my truck- and just like that my good morning instantly turned bad.

The old engine simply refused to start up making a whining noise every time I tried.

"Urgh! Stupid fucking piece of scrap metal!" I was banging my head against the steering wheel with each curse after my eighteenth failed attempt to start the piece of shit of a truck!

"Why the long face, BabyBell? Did Eddie piss you off already?" Emmett's roaring voice interrupted my pity party.

I looked up to see my cousin-in-law smiling broadly at me. I tried to smile but it came out as a grimace as I replied, "Hi, Emmett. Weirdly enough, _Eddie_ did not piss me off- _this time_. My stupid-ass truck did."

Emmett whistled and shook his head saying, "No way, Li'l sis. That _thing_ can be many things- most likely scrap metal- but not a truck. Though I personally think it's an excellent contender to be an exhibit from the demolished tanks of WWII."

I gave him a withering look for making fun of my truck which by extension meant me- at least in my head. He quickly decided to change tracks saying, "Any who, need a ride, sis? I could drop you off."

I nodded knowing there was no way I could get it fixed and reach work on time. He opened the passenger side door of his huge red jeep for me. After I got in he asked arching an eyebrow, "So, where to, BabyBell?" I told him to drop me off at my hospital and immediately his chipper mood turned in to confusion.

"You work at Seattle Grace? The hospital Seattle Grace? Here… in Seattle?" when I nodded he looked even more confused and asked, "Then why didn't you just go with Edward?"

I gave him a look that said, "_Dude, I feel sorry for your damaged understanding ability!_" then said slowly to make him understand, "Emmett, today is Edward's first day at work. If he dropped me off first then he would have been late by the time he gets to his hospital. You see why I was trying to get my truck started?"

"What are you…," he started then suddenly his confused look was replaced by a devilish glint in his eyes, "… Oh…. Ooohhhh…. Ohhhhoooo…." When I asked him if he was okay- because let's face it that look was simply creepy- he continued grinning and said that he finally understood what I was saying.

I decided not to push him anymore. Instead the rest of our fifteen minutes drive was passed by his asking me questions about Rosalie. It seemed that Muscles had a little crush of my best friend!

As Emmett pulled into the parking lot outside the hospital he had the gleeful look on his face was back. His eyes actually seemed to twinkle when he wished me to have a _kickass_ day at work before pulling out of the drive. I just shook my head at his crazy antics and headed inside.

**-OTC-**

As I walked past the reception desk I smiled at the elderly and a bit chatty receptionist, Mrs. Cope, and pointed to my wrist watch to say that I could not stop to chat right then. She nodded her understanding and waved at me.

I carried on to making my way to the locker rooms reserved for the pharmacists. I quickly pulled on my overly-girly _pink_ scrubs. I hated wearing anything pink. Maybe because when I was a toddler, Reneé tried to turn me into a pink smurfette by buying everything pink she could get her hands on!

I stopped mid-cursing the brutal color of my scrubs when I heard the bell chimes indicating the start of the morning shift. _Crap! I'm gonna be late! Fucking truck!_ I quickly exited the change room and hurried to the neurology ward on third floor.

**-OTC-**

The moment the elevator doors opened I saw Rose making frantic throat-slitting motions with her hand at me. I whisper-yelled, "I know! I know… I'm late, Rose. I'll catch ya later," as I passed her before rushing off on my way.

I heard her calling from behind, "Izzie, wait…" but I just waved at her and sprinted towards the ward entrance.

Just as I was about to pass through the door I heard Dr. Farrell's voice, "… I think we should wait for her. She has never been late for rounds before. Maybe she had some problems this morning." I felt grateful that the Chief of Medicine had such a high opinion of me.

However my smile turned into a scowl when I heard another voice reply to him, "With all due respect, Chief, I don't think our profession allows being a late-comer. Besides, I don't even see the point of having a pharmacist on the medical team in the first place."

My head exploded at the words. _It must be the new resident! He must be a snob if he thinks I am not _needed_ in his team. His voice sounds a bit familiar… whatever, I'll chew the fucker's head off!_ I shrugged off any notion of knowing the voice somewhere and squared off my shoulders to confront the guy.

"Watch it there, son, she's one of the best I've seen in years…"

Before the chief could finish I had already stormed in and shouted, "What is your _problem_?" Then I looked at the resident doctor and felt my breath leave me. _Oh fuck!_

**EPOV**

My first day at work kicked off great. The Chief of Medicine, Dr. Stephen Farrell, seemed like a good man. He gave me a brief tour of the hospital before introducing me to my team.

The first surprise to me came in form of the Hale kid, Jasper. The older brother in me wanted to hate him purely on the basis of the fact that he had flirted with my baby sister. However, his easy-going nature made it seem like a wasted effort.

Besides myself, there were two more residents in the neurology department- Dr. Marcus Volturi and Dr. James Wood. Marcus was a middle-aged man reminding me a bit of my father with his introspective look. However, Dr. Wood gave me a funny look when we were introduced which made me feel uncomfortable.

In my team I had four intern doctors- Jasper Hale, Austin Marks, Ben Cheney and Tyler Crowley. Just as I was about to congratulate myself on not having to deal with any female teammates (because the constant staring were a nuisance during my internship in England), I was introduced to the nursing stuff where three out of four were female- _damn it! I was so close!_

I quickly shook hands with Mike Newton, Jessica Stanley, Lauren Mallory and Angela Cheney, Ben's wife- by the looks of matching wedding bands. Out of these four only Angela seemed like a nice person. Jessica and Lauren tried to give me flirty smiles but in reality it made them look like they were selling tooth pastes or something!

When a bell chimed signaling the start of my shift, I motioned to my team members to follow me but Dr. Farrell stopped me by saying that there was _another girl_ in my team- a pharmacist- who hadn't showed up yet! This pissed me off.

_First I get stuck with _four girls_ in my team and now I have to _wait_ for one to show up in time? No fucking way! There's a limit to a guy's tolerance. And honestly I can't even see why a pharmacist should be in a medical team at the first place._

When I expressed my feelings on the subject, the Chief started to reprimand me by listing off her good qualities in which I had the least interest in.

I was looking for a way to shut him up but before I could do anything, a melodious voice cut-off the Chief's rambling by snapping, "What is your _problem_?"

I was startled to hear _that_ voice. _Could it be…?_ I slowly turned my head and found myself staring at the warm deep chocolate eyes of my wife. _What the fuck…?_

Bella and I were staring at each other, open-mouthed, until we heard Dr. Farrell say, "Swan, you're late."

Bella immediately blushed deep red and then looked down before mumbling, "Sorry, Sir. Car trouble." I grimaced at her answer and mentally kicked myself for not making sure that she got to work okay._ Way to be a responsible man, Cullen!_

My inner monologue was interrupted by the Chief's voice, "… a first. So, we'll ignore it this time. Just make sure it doesn't happen again, alright?"

After Bella nodded he looked satisfied and turned to face me, "Cullen, this is Isabella Swan. Ms. Swan is the clinical pharmacist on your team. She is going to be on your rounds with you and advice you on the medicines you are going to use on the patients. I'm sure between the two of you; you will be able to overcome any pharmaceutical hurdles you encounter due to your European medical training. In sensitive cases she'll be in charge of drug monitoring. I hope there will be no problems here." I simply blinked at him when he sternly added the last part.

I was vaguely aware of his giving Bella a short intro of myself and in what capacity she'll need to assist me. However none of his prattling got into my brain because my mind had started racing the moment he addressed _my wife_ as _Ms. Swan_! I mean it was understandable that she didn't have time to change her name on papers but _she must've had notified the hospital that she was getting married, right? Everyone should be aware that she's _my wife… mine!

I stole a quick glance at her left hand and felt my heart drop to my stomach. Her ring was gone. I had to remove my ring when I got into my scrubs and put it inside my wallet because I did not want to risk losing it. But why would she remove it? Was she embarrassed to admit that she was my wife?

My mind was still pre-occupied with my thoughts when Dr. Farrell whished us best of luck and left. After he left Marks had to cough twice to get me moving again. "_Stop thinking about all these shit now, Cullen. You have a job to do. There are sick people here and they need you,_" I said to myself before gesturing everyone to get moving.

As Dr. Farrell had told me I was to select two nurses to take with me on the round and I easily picked Newton and Angela. Bella- however- had no choice but join in on the round.

We moved from patient to patient, the interns taking turns in presenting the cases and when I reviewed the previously given treatments Bella stonily informed me about the reasons for which each drug was prescribed and the frequencies of their dosing the patient was receiving. She avoided eye contact with me, keeping a purely professional tone and I decided to follow her lead and did the same.

After the round was over, I ordered the tests and medicines for my patients as necessary and then told them I'd be in my office if they need me for anything. Everyone nodded and Jasper tried to give me an encouraging smile before scramming towards his assigned patient. I asked Bella to check the levels of electrolytes in the blood work of a patient after Newton had it done and then report to me before going to my office for the first time.

**BPOV**

_"That fucker! That lying… arrogant… bossy fucker! Who the fuck did he think he was? Barging in my work… acting like he fucking owned it all? I'll show him!_" I was mad- fuming mad. I'm pretty sure if I was a creature in the _Harry Potter_ books I'd be a blast-ended skrewt right now- judging by the way I was feeling!

I was still cussing my shitty luck when I see Newton flirting with Stanley. I had to work with them on two days during my internship and let me tell you- it's mentally injurious to co-exist in the same room as those two.

I had some new teammates in this one like Nurse Mallory, Dr. Marks and Dr. Crowley- _and let's not forget your hubby dearest… lying fucker!_ I had worked with Nurse Angela before and she was actually really nice. She was a year older than me and Rose but we had made a bit tentative friendship during that time.

The other intern, besides Jazz, Dr. Cheney- I didn't personally know. But I knew that he was Angela's husband and a member of Jazz's geek squad. So it's not hard to guess that he's most probably a harmless guy-_ Rose might know him though._ As soon as the thought crossed my mind I remembered Rose's warning throat-slitting! _I should go talk to her._

**-OTC-**

Rose was sitting at the desk talking to the floor-in charge, Victoria Simmons, when I went up to her and asked for a minute. She immediately got up and walked with me to the medicine closet.

After she closed the door behind her she said, "God, Bell! You just saved me. Victoria was yapping about her rendezvous with an African guy in the weekend. She was about to tell me his measurements! Eww…"

I stopped her chattering with a whisper-yell, "Rosalie, I'm sure I'm having a major life-crisis without hearing about old-lady sex!"

Her eyes instantly widened as she apologized, "Oh, I'm so sorry, dude! I completely forgot… so, how did it go? Did you know _he_ was the new resident?"

"No, the liar skipped to mention that part during the weekend." I was ready to bang my head against the closet door in frustration by this point! _But, you didn't tell him about your job either, Bella._ I flipped my conscience the bird telling her to shut the fuck up. I did not want to hear to reason.

"Liar? Where did he tell you he worked?" she looked confused as if knowing where my husband worked as a given.

Rosalie's question brought me out of beating the shit out of my conscience as I stiffly replied, "He didn't say where he worked at all. And lying by omission is still lying." She took the hint that I was not to be fucked with and nodded before telling me to go and talk to him to clear it all up. I sighed because this time, Rosalie Hale was right. And I hated not being right.

After deciding to confront Edward I left Rosalie to enjoy Victoria's old-lady sex tales and went to find Newton. I wanted to use the blood report as an excuse to go to Edward's office. This time I saw Newton flirting with another nurse from orthopedic ward.

"Newton, you got the blood reports from bed-17?" I asked without any preamble. He gave the nurse a cheeky grin before sauntering towards me.

When he was close- too close for me to be comfortable- he said, "I got it right here, Swan," he held up a folder but as I went to reach for it he lowered his hand and said, "but it's gonna cost you a kiss."

I made a nauseated expression and replied, "I'd rather kiss my own feet. If you don't hand it over right now I will take it up to the Chief. This can be construed as sexual harassment in workplace, you know?"

He pulled a face before handing the folder over saying, "One of these days, Bella, you're gonna say yes." I wanted to say I had already said _yes_ to someone who was kind of our boss right now. And I wasn't even sure if I made the right decision or not.

The thing was for whatever reason I didn't want people to know about me and Edward. I feared they'll start treating me differently and besides we had just decided to give _us_ a try- _what if it doesn't work out?_ The thought of us not working out reminded me of the task I had at hand and taking the folder from Newton I sharply turned to go to the office of the new resident.

**-OTC-**

Edward looked up from the case files he was studying when I just barged in without knocking in his office. His shocked look slowly transformed into a frown. He opened his mouth to speak but I ploughed on before he even uttered a word—

"What the hell are you doing here? It's _my_ hospital. _I_ work here. I don't want my personal and professional lives to clash!"

His frown deepened and then he glared at me, "Really, _Miss Swan_? I didn't know that there's been a decree enforced recently that states that I cannot work in any place you were employed in."

His glare made me snap back, "Some things do not need to be said out loud. Common sense should have told you that!"

His eyes narrowed as he shouts back, "Did the thought even cross your mind that I may be equally surprised as you in here? What the hell are you accusing me of, _Miss Swan_?"

"I am accusing you of lying, _Dr. Cullen_- lying by omission. We spent a lot of time together yesterday and that gave you plenty of opportunities to tell me where you were starting your work. Yet being the liar you are you forgot to mention that, how convenient is that?" I am sure I had my bitch-face on and if we were in middle school I would've loved to light a fire under his ass before screaming, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!"

My sarcastic reply made his nostrils flare and he yells, "If I am a liar then so are you. Because during those opportune moments, you didn't think of telling me that either- did you,_ Miss Swan?_"

_Damn it! He caught me!_ I try my distraction tactic to stop getting myself trapped and ask, "Why are you sneering at my name like that?"

He pretended to think before he shot back, "Hmm… let's see. Maybe because people here think of my wife as an unmarried woman? Are you ashamed of me or something? You're not even wearing your ring."

I checked his hand that was lying flat on his desk and clenched my hands in fists before answering, "No one cares about my marital status here. I left the ring at home because I would have to constantly wash my hands while working. Besides I don't see you wearing your ring either. And if you continue the way you are behaving right now- you may be right about me being ashamed of you."

He looked startled at my answer as if it just occurred to him that he had been yelling at me all this time. He opened his mouth but I dropped the folder on his table and said with forced calmness, "Here are the reports you wanted to look at. Take a look and if you need to discuss any points with me you can find me in the ward. See you later, Dr. Cullen." Then I quickly rushed out before he could see the tears forming in my eyes.

**A/N: So… Rudeward is back…. with Bitchella.**

**What do you think? Leave me your thoughts and review, please?**

**Until next time… take care.**

**Ann**


	18. Chapter 18: Nosey Pantoprazole Lover

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters.**

**A/N: I have said this before and I would like to say it once more that I have absolutely no idea about the hospital system in the US. **

**IN ORDER TO CLEAR UP ANY CONFUSION REGARDING Bella's WORKING WITH Edward, I WOULD LIKE POINT OUT THE FACT THAT Bella IS A _CLINICAL PHARMACIST_ NOT A _HOSPITAL PHARMACIST_. ACCORDING TO REMINGTON'S BOOK OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, IT IS IN THE CLINICAL PHARMACIST'S RESPONSIBILITIES TO JOIN THE DOCTOR IN THE ROUNDS, BE A PART OF A MEDICAL TEAM, MAKE SUGGESTIONS TO THE DOCTOR ABOUT A TREATMENT REGIEMEN, COUNSEL THE IN-PATIENTS AND THEIR ATTENDANTS ABOUT THE DRUG BEING ADMINISTERED AND PERFORMING THERAPEUTIC DRUG MONITORING FOR NARROW THERAPEUTIC INDEX DRUGS LIKE WARFARIN. **

**EVEN IF IT IS NOT IN PRACTICE IN THE US, I PUT IT IN THE STORY FOR THE STORY'S SAKE BECAUSE IT IS THEORETICALLY CORRECT AND IT'S A FICTION, PEOPLE. ENJOY IT.**

**I hope that cleared it all up for you. Enjoy Chapter-18.**

**Chapter-18: Nosey Pantoprazole Lover**

**EPOV**

After Bella had stormed out of my office, I did something I never thought I would- I called Emmett- to get advice on girl problem. He picked up on the first ring, "Hey Bro, how's the work going? Anything interesting happened yet?"

His snicker made me think and I asked, "Em, do you know where Bella works?"

He right out laughed at my face, "Dude, you are _so_ fucked! I wish I could see your face right now. I found out this morning. How's it going with her?"

I sighed, "You don't know half of it, brother. I'm about to blow my brain out!" His tone sobered up and he asked me what had happened. So I told him- how I was pissed when I heard I had to deal with another female colleague, how I was plotting to get her removed from my team when Bella showed up, how she hadn't told anyone about getting married, how I saw a male nurse (Newton) looking her up and down, how she came into my office to confront me for not telling her where I worked, how I yelled at her without meaning to, how she ran away from me after that… all of it.

Em guffawed loudly then said, "Man, you do know what this is, right? It's just sexual tension between the two of you. I'm telling you, dude, once you have sex all these tension will disappear. Besides you're married now- so Papa Masen wouldn't mind about it I'm sure." I wished I could reach in through the phone and hit my cousin when he said stuff like that.

"Em, you know it's about more than what Papa Masen said to me. Besides we don't know each other that well. So bedding her now will be a bit like a one-night stand. And I refuse to do something like that; because _Bella_ deserves better. Just tell me what I should do… while refraining from any sexual references," I chided him while mentally questioning whether Bella would let me get near her after yelling at her like a douche bag.

Emmett's tone was grave when he said, "Okay, bro. I guess you need to give her a little space. So that she can clear her head and from what I can feel- you need a little space too." _I can do that._ So I thanked Emmett before hanging up. Now I just had to ignore the furious wife and give us a little space._ How hard can it be, right?_

The moment I got out of my office to go receive a new patient I realized that it was indeed going to be _very hard_. I finally had a chance to look at Bella closely and in the hideous pink scrubs she still looked delectable to me.

The scrubs accentuated her curves and the blush of fury covering her cheeks made me seriously consider the consequences of just touching her cheek to feel the heat coming off of her blush. But the one time she caught my eyes she gave me a withering look making me rethink the whole idea. So I decided to follow Emmett's solution for now.

**-OTC-**

When I got off my shift on the first day I tried to look for Bella. Not because I wanted to be near her, I was totally going to give her space. It was because I thought she might need a ride home._ Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Cullen!_

When I asked Hale about her he shook his head saying Bella asked Rosalie to give her a ride during lunch break. _See, she doesn't need an idiot like you. She has people looking out for her._ I mentally cuss my luck that Bella had both her friends working with her who would always be ready to drive her to and from work.

I picked up dinner on the way home so that she wouldn't have to cook after the long day but she was not home when I got there. I waited till ten before deciding to send her a text message—

_When are you gonna get home? Should I keep dinner on the table? ~~~ Edward~~~_

My phone chimed immediately with the text alert and I opened the text only to feel punched in the gut.

_You have dinner. I'm gonna stay with Rose tonight… to help her sort my old room out. She'll drive me to work tomorrow. So… have a good night. ~~~ Bella ~~~_

I wanted to argue with her to come home but I decided to hold off to give her the space she might need. So instead I replied with a '_you too'_ before heating up my now cold dinner. But after eating a few bites I just dumped it in the waste bin and decided to go to bed early.

That was the first night we spent under different roofs after getting married.

**BPOV**

When I begged Rosalie to let me stay with her that night she looked at me with sadness in her eyes, "B, you know I love you, right?" When I nodded she continued, "And as your best friend it is as much my duty to help you out of a mess as it is to support you in everything you do."

I looked downward avoiding her eyes. She sighed before taking a hold of my arm, "I am not saying that he was not a jerk to you that night at the bar. But you are being unreasonable right now. It was both of your responsibilities to discuss the matter of employment before this morning."

I could not help the pout that formed involuntarily, "So, you are saying I am to be blamed?"

She shook her head and said, "No, B. I am not placing any blames. I am just pointing out the fact that you need to communicate. You need to talk to him and straighten everything out… without yelling at each other. You get what I am saying?"

I grimaced, "Fine. Then if I happen to kill him tonight the moment I see him it's all on you."

She laughed lightly and said, "Oh no, you don't. It is one of the responsibilities of best friends to divert each other's mind when a boy problem arises. So, you will come with me tonight. We'll drink shitty beer from Jazz's stash and then pass out watching White Collar. How does that sound?"

Her ability to instantly lift my spirit made me smile, "I say that sounds like a plan."

**-OTC-**

After my shift I almost dragged Rosalie out so that we would be out of the hospital before Edward came looking for me. I just didn't want another confrontation. _Or maybe you're just a wuss, Swan!_ I had decided to stay the night with Rose so that it will be easier for her to drive me tomorrow. It was a sound plan- at least that's what I told myself.

When at night Edward texted me about dinner and I told him about my plans to stay with Rose, I had secretly hoped he would insist that I come home. I was thinking of a way of asking him what he was having for dinner, suddenly feeling guilty about not being there when I told him just the day before that I'd cook for him. But when he gave in without any argument, I had another reason to add to my pity-party. _A good fucking night indeed!_

**-OTC-**

The next morning while I was sipping coffee after the restless night, my mind kept wondering what Edward must be doing for breakfast. He must be so lost in the kitchen. I wondered if he went back to buying hot water for tea. _Stop wallowing, Swan. It's not like the guy was starving without you. If you worry so much about him why don't you go back home and see how's he fending for himself?_

My bitchy subconscious was right. I decided that after my shift that evening I would ask Jazz to drive me to Edward's, seeing as Rose had a double shift that day. I really needed to get my truck working again. I would call Archie, my usual mechanic, to come look at it. With everything planned out I went out with Rose to the hospital.

On our round we met a patient who had been admitted during the night. Mrs. Fenton had come with complaints of severe headache on one side of the frontal part of her head. Dr. Wood, who was on duty when she arrived, chalked it out to be a simple headache but she was admitted due to her husband's insistence. When Edward saw her chart, he asked her about her complaints and then he ordered an x-ray of her skull and paranasal sinuses. He also ordered a serological test just to check her blood status.

It seemed a bit excessive for what Dr. Wood had deemed as simple headache but no one dared to contradict him. I wanted to ask him about it out of curiosity but seeing him act so professional made me hold my tongue- for once.

We avoided each other and when he needed to tell me something his tone was utterly professional. He seemed so cold from the childish man I had spend a fun day in the super market with. Also seeing him in doctor mode in his green scrubs did strange things to me. _Maybe I'm having PMS… why on earth would some guy in scrubs turn me on when I worked in a freaking hospital?_ But the point was- it wasn't _some guy_ in scrubs… it was _Edward_ in scrubs… and he looked fuckhot!

When nurse Mallory brought the reports in the nurses' station, Jasper excitedly shouted, "I _knew_ it! The guy's a freaking genius, dude!," at a very startled Ben before going into Edward's office. When I turned to Ben for answers he simply handed over Mrs. Fenton's reports to me. It seemed like she had developed a bad case of sinusitis- which was what Edward seemed to suspect when he ordered the tests. This would make him out as a good doctor and I felt a little bit proud thinking he had such a knack for quick diagnosis.

When Edward came to check on Mrs. Fenton with the results in his hands, I silently followed him because I wanted to see if he gloated at being right. "_Seeing the arrogant bastard he was to me- he probably will,"_ I thought. But I was wrong. He calmly explained the whole situation to Mr. and Mrs. Fenton before turning to order their nurse- Lauren Mallory- about the medicines to be given.

"I think we'll go for Amoxicillin 250, t.i.d, p.o. and for symptomatic relief let's go for Ibuprofen 400, t.i.d., a.c. alright, Mallory?"

Lauren looked like he was speaking all gibberish and simply gaped at him before stuttering, "t.i.d, Dr.?"

Edward huffed before explaining, "What I meant was Amoxicillin 250 m.g., _thrice_ daily, orally and Ibuprofen 400 m.g., thrice daily, after meals. You have to keep up with abbreviations like these, Nurse!" When Lauren still looked questioningly at him I decided to intervene knowing what must have confused her—

"Nurse Mallory, Ibuprofen is Advil." She finally nodded and I decided to bring something that had caught my notice to Edward's, "Dr. Cullen, this chart shows that Mrs. Fenton has a history of PUD. So shouldn't you give her a GI protectant with the Ibuprofen?"

I could feel the frustration rolling off him when he stiffly answered, "I think that's _my_ call to make, _Miss Swan_, seeing that she's _my_ patient."

His answer pissed me off and I contradicted him saying, "That's where you are wrong, Dr. Cullen. Seeing that we're on the same team here, she's my patient as well. So, I suggest you prescribe her a proton pump inhibitor along with the Advil."

He almost growled at Lauren without answering me, "Add an Omeprazole 20 m.g. 40 minutes before the _Advil_."

That moment I looked down at the chart hanging by the bed and saw that Mrs. Fenton was pregnant. So again I intervened, "Dr. Cullen, I think you should prescribe Pantoprazole not Omeprazole. It's better for her."

Edward turned around to face me, towering over me before almost shouting in my face, "What is it that you want? What is wrong with the Omeprazole? _Miss Swan_, you are _nothing_ but a pharmacist. You don't know what's better for my patients. It's the _doctor_ who's supposed to order the meds. And I say she'll be given an Omeprazole." _What the fuck? He _did not_ just imply that I had no business in here! I'll shove his fucking Omeprazole up his ass!_

I was furious when I refused to let him intimidate me and shot right back, "Well, if you had taken a few minutes to read her history you'd have known that she's expecting. And in US, Pantoprazole is the only safe PPI that can be given during pregnancy. And I was not ordering the meds I was merely giving you a suggestion." I then turned around and noticing the gaping looks of our coworkers I did what I could think of- I ran like a bat out of hell.

I hid in the medicine closet where I was sure no one would look for me so that I could restore some of my composure back- but I was wrong.

**EPOV**

The moment Bella ran away from me I knew I had acted like an ass. But I was too much angry to accept that yet. So, I ordered the fucking Pantoprazole and then took Hale by his elbow to a corner.

Before I could say anything he opened his mouth, "Are you guys okay, Edward? I know we're supposed to act like all professionals here and I respect you as a doctor but you were being kind of an ass to her and I look up to her as my sister. So, don't hurt her, okay?"

I knew he was right but I ignored his lecture on professionalism and asked him roughly, "Where the hell did she go?"

He gave me a smile that said he was feeling sorry for me and then said, "I am not sure but if I had to guess, I'd have a go at the medicine closet. It's a temperature controlled room and just the pharmacists are allowed there. So she would know that no one will go looking for her there. Go and apologize to her. She's good at her job… it's not a flaw."

I wanted to say that _yes it was her mistake when she made me look bad in front of my team, that I would go and find her to question her intention for insulting me openly and that I would under no circumstance apologize to her- _but I didn't say any of it. I just shoved him out of my way and tore through the hallway looking for the damn closet. When I twisted the door open and stepped inside, the first sound that met my ears was sniffling.

I realized she was crying the same moment she realized that I was in there with her. In the darkness I fumbled with the light switch and when it was turned on I saw her sitting on the floor. She was shielding her eyes with one hand and the other hand was clenched in a fist on her lap. She asked me in a voice thick with tears, "What the hell are you doing here? Only _pharmacists_ are allowed here. Get the fuck out."

Hearing her cuss would have been a huge turn on for me if I wasn't so blind with rage. Instead of apologizing to her like Jasper advised me to, I snapped at her, "I am here to ask the same thing to you. What the fuck were you doing back there? What is your problem with me? You made me look bad in front of all those people in there." I guess my accusations pissed her off even more as she scrambled up to stand before me toe-to-toe.

Then she shot back at me, "You are _so_ full of yourself! Really who the fuck do you think you are? If I know _one _thing- it's medicine. I may not be a doctor like you but you have absolutely _no right_ to treat me like something that got stuck in your shoe just for the heck of it. I was right to correct you back there. You know it; you're just too arrogant to admit it. Besides _you _made yourself look bad back there for prescribing without checking her medical history first!"

She was heaving with the force of her rant. I could feel her breath on my face in that constricted space. I could almost taste her strawberry smell on my tongue. I knew I had to distract myself because having a hard-on while wearing scrubs would be a dead giveaway. So I did what I could to stop myself from kissing her at that moment- I continued shouting at her.

"You know what, _Swan_? I was not at fault in there. You just wanted to look good… a know-it-all. So you made me look fucking incompetent in front of everyone- including my patient. This is what you do, isn't it? You just charge in without thinking for a beat and then run the fuck away without confronting the result of the mess you created."

She looked startled at my new accusation and breathed her reply, "What do you mean? What mess did I leave behind?"

I was on a roll and I didn't want to think of how her breath felt on my face. So I continued my shouting, "You don't even remember, do you? We both were shocked at seeing each other here yesterday. I decided to try to make peace with you and got dinner for us on my way home. But what did you do? You ran away to your friend's house- without having the decency to tell me to my face that you didn't want to be anywhere near me. And now, here- you're doing the same thing again. You're always running away."

She opened her mouth then closed it. Then she turned to leave the closet before stopping. And then shook her head before saying, "Oh, who am I kidding? Fuck it!" I was about to ask what she was talking about but suddenly she grabbed the back of my head with her right hand and then her lips were on me. She was kissing me- _Bella was kissing me!_

The moment my brain registered what was happening I started to respond to her kiss in kind. It was nothing like the sweet kiss we had shared on our wedding day. No, it was hot, hungry and possibly the best kiss of my life._ Oh, who am I kidding, it was _undoubtedly_ the best kiss of my life!_

We were attacking each other's mouths with all our frustrations pouring out. I slowly brought my tongue out and licked her lower lip thinking of the times she had made me crazy with want by simply biting it. She gasped and suddenly the best kiss of my life became a whole lot better.

I inched my tongue inside her mouth. She looked into my eyes before slowly grazing my tongue with her own. The kiss turned wet and my soldier started to stand up to salute Bella. I tried to back my lower body just a little bit to avoid poking her with it. But Bella had other ideas.

She brought her other hand up and entwined it with the right one in my hair. I sighed at the feeling of her slender fingers tugging on my hair. She moaned in response. The sound went straight to my dick making it stand up in a full mast. I decided to end the kiss so that I would not end up having sex with my wife for the first time inside a fucking medicine closet.

I brought my hands up to cup her cheeks and then slowed the kiss down to soft pecks. After one… two… three… chaste kisses I let her go. I could finally feel the warmth radiating from her flushed cheeks. Bella then slowly opened her eyes and met mine. Her eyes looked like molten pools of chocolate with desire.

She then looked down and said to the ground, "You're right. I ran away; but it was not because I don't want to see your face- it was because I thought we needed a little space to process what happened yesterday. I am sorry I acted like a bitch yesterday… and this morning. And I am really sorry I ruined your dinner plans last night. I just…"

I placed one finger on her lips silencing her before taking her chin between my thumb and forefinger and lifting up her face so that I could look into her eyes.

"So, are you going to run away after what happened just now?" I asked.

She quickly shook her head before answering, "No, I'd already decided to come back home tonight. So, I guess I'll see you tonight, at home, Dr. Cullen. That is if you want me to…" she stopped uncertainly.

I nodded at her happy to hear her confession and whispered a soft '_of course I do, Bella_'. She then stepped out of my reach and said, "I should go. If people see us coming out of the closet together, they'll gossip. Get out of here after few minutes, okay?"

When I gave her an '_okay'_ she started for the door. Just before opening it she turned to me and calmly said, "And Edward, I am happy to see that you made the correct diagnosis for that woman. I really was trying to help out the patient nothing else."

_How can she still think about that? I was honestly having trouble with remembering my own name after that kiss!_ The answer was simple- that woman was trouble.

I tried to get my mind focused on the head above my shoulders and replied, "I know, Bella. I really admire your passion for your patients. I am sorry for being an ass back there with you. Can you forgive me for that?"

She looked right into my eyes before murmuring, "You are already forgiven."

When she left me there alone in the closet I kept hoping we would get a fresh start this way. _A guy can hope after that kiss, can't he?_

**BPOV**

_Oh my God! What did I just do? Did I really just kiss the living daylights out of my husband? Inside a fucking medicine closet… at work? I can't believe I did that!_ I was screaming in my head with glee; because I had just had the best kiss of my life.

I used to envy the lucky bitches that got to kiss their heroes in movies but now I had my own movie-worthy kiss- with the toe-curling! French kissing had seemed quite unhygienic to me before but being French-kissed by Edward was a lot of things- but _not_ unhygienic!

I almost floated- well I walked but it felt like I was floating- to Rose. When she heard my tale she had two things to say- one, Edward could be a big douche sometimes; and second she thought I would happily let him fuck my brains out before my birthday! I didn't know about fucking or sex of any kind for that matter- but I wouldn't be opposed to more of those kisses from him before my birthday- that was for sure!

**A/N: I should add that I do not mean any offense to the nursing community because of the Lauren thing. I just hate her guts... but hey, if there are bad ones like Lauren there are also good ones like Angela, right? Besides one of my great-aunts is a nurse and I have seen how hard she has to work for the job.**

**Anyways, let me know what you think.**

**Take care.**

**Ann**

**P.S. I am so sorry for the late update. FFn was being a royal pain in the ass and not letting me update. :(**


	19. Chapter 19: Truce?

**Disclaimer: No copyrights infringement intended. I don't own Twilight saga or any of its awesome characters. I only have a complete set of Friends TV series... and an unhealthy amount of obsession with Mac & Cheese! :D**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, put on alert or simply... read OTC. You guys make my days a little bit brighter. Thank you.**

**Enjoy Chapter-19 and I'll see you at the end of this chapter! :-)**

**Chapter-19: Truce?**

**BPOV**

After the euphoria of the kiss finally wore off I started panicking about how I should behave with Edward._ Jeez, Swan, you literally tried to kiss the lips off of the guy. _Now_ you wonder what to say to him? A bit late for that, isn't it?_ I shushed my inner-bitch and decided to let him take the lead. _If he behaves like nothing happened, then so will I._ That was the plan.

When our shift ended Edward asked me if I wanted him to drive me home but me being the chicken, said I had already asked Jasper; scared of any awkwardness in the car. So I let Jasper give me a ride home but when I got there Edward was already there- waiting for me before going in.

We went in together before each setting off towards our own rooms. When I had freshened up and went downstairs, I saw that Edward was still up in his room. I decided to make us dinner- a proper dinner not take-out. So what else I could make but- _Mac and Cheese_?

Edward came down when I was grating the cheese. He looked a bit puzzled at me before exclaiming, "Are you cooking dinner? I haven't had a home cooked dinner since Mom left here for Forks after we got settled here."

His cheerfulness made me smile and feel guilty at the same time; smile because of his playful nature and guilty for running away the previous night. Trying to find an ice-breaker I asked if he wanted to ask Emmett to join us for dinner. He quickly shook his head saying, "Nope. Tonight I want you all to myself."

Involuntarily I caught the dual meaning of his words and my widening eyes must have clued him in too as he coughed loudly before continuing, "What I meant was this is the first time you are cooking in here and I just wanted it to be us, you know?"

I nodded before smiling a bit sheepishly for reading too much into his words. "_A kiss and you think he wants in your pants? Jesus, Swan, calm the fuck down already!"_ I chastised myself and went back to my cheese.

After me silently working and him silently looking on, Edward broke the quiet by asking, "What are you making? Can I help you?"

I looked suspiciously at him, immediately on guard- _if he said he didn't like M&C there'd be hell to pay-_ and replied slowly, "Mac and Cheese."

Edward gave me an even bigger smile and said, "Really? I used to have it regularly before I went to college. After that it seemed like a _kid's_ _food_ so I never asked mom to make it anymore."

I had to smile at his logic before leaning down to say conspiratorially, "Well, there's no one here who'll judge us for having a _kid's dinner_. So, I think we're safe. Besides I _love_ Mac and Cheese."

He smiled at me bashfully before saying softly, "I do, too." Hearing him say _those_ words brought back the memory of our first kiss which of course led to the kiss of the century we had that afternoon._ Does it feel hot in here?_

I was snapped out of my fantasy by Edward asking again if I needed him to help me with anything. I arched an eyebrow at him and said, "Edward, not to be rude or anything, but you can't even boil water. So, I think I'll be able to manage on my own."

He then did something that I never… ever…EVER… expected Edward Cullen, Rude Adonis, jackass extraordinaire, to do- he pouted. He fucking pouted making me itch to tug on that lower lip with my teeth. _Oh for God sakes! How the fuck can he be so sexy and so cute all at once? It should be illegal!_

To stop him from pouting I thought for a moment before saying, "Well, you can do one thing- you can choose something to watch while we eat and bring drinks to the living room. It'll just take a few minutes before the food is ready anyway." He gave me another smile before going into the living room. _If I keep falling for those ridiculously bright eyes and that pout I am a fucking goner!_

After I took the dish out of the oven I put the M&C in two plates and took them to the living room.

There Edward sat with a big smile on his face holding the DVD cover of CSI. I handed him his plate before squatting down to check the DVDs on the shelf. There I found my favorite TV series of all times- _Friends_. I quickly stood up holding the DVD out to him.

Edward furrowed his eyebrows and then said, "You want to watch that? It's Emmett's, I reckon. I never watched mindless comedies like him."

I took that as a personal insult and snapped back, "Hey, _don't ever_ call _Friends_ mindless comedy. If Emmett loves it he just earned a bit more respect in my book. We've dealt with serious all day. I vote for watching something fun and crazy right now. So, I say we'll watch this. Any problem there, Dr. Cullen?"

He held his hands up before saying, "Nope, not a problem, Mrs. Cullen. You're in charge here. Put it on. Let me see what the fuss is all about." I let the _Mrs. Cullen_ part slide and went ahead to put the DVD on. I chose the pilot episode silently swearing I'll make him watch the whole series if it's the last thing I did._ I'll show him mindless comedy!_

By the end of the first three episodes we were both laughing hard and Edward was holding on to his sides as he laughed care-freely with me. _Hmm… maybe he has some redeemable qualities after all,_ I thought.

When we decided to call it a night seeing that we had a 24-hour shift the next day, we were still smiling like goofs at each other. Edward offered to clean up since I had cooked and I graciously accepted. _Well, I accepted because I am a lazy bitch but he doesn't need to know that now, does he?_

We climbed up the stairs together to go to our room. As we reached my door- about to part ways, Edward stopped me by saying, "Bella, I'm sorry I was an ass to you and also for yelling at you. I don't want to fight with you. Can we… just peacefully co-exists for now? I can give you a ride to and from work if you like."

I felt my good mood evaporate just like that. I don't know what I was hoping for- maybe a goodnight kiss? Or, him asking me out on a date? But _peacefully co-existing_ was not it. _I let him take the lead and _this_ is what he does?_

I knew I needed to get away from him before I blurted out something stupid like- '_I don't like peace' _or some shit_._ So I mumbled that I had already asked Jasper to pick me up tomorrow and my car would be fixed by the time we got off work- which was the truth. He nodded, and then sighed before wishing me a quiet goodnight and slipping into his room.

I mechanically changed for bed. I didn't want to cry; because it wasn't really a rejection. There was no repulsion or hostility in his expression. The man married me and gave me a place to stay without asking me to sleep with him. He endured my bitchiness at work and forgave me after I ran away from him. He just asked for peace in return. I could give him that. So I wiped my tears before promising myself to offer him a truce- nothing else.

**EPOV**

"_You are fucking wuss, Cullen! Peacefully co-exist? PEACEFULLY CO-EXIST? How hard is it? Bella, would you like to go out with me sometime… on a date? You can't even say that, can you? You're such a git!_" I mentally kicked myself for not having the courage to ask Bella out.

The truth was I wanted there to be an '_us'_, and for that I wanted to ask her out on our own terms- not being pressurized by our parents. But I, being the wimpy-ass freak, chickened out at the last moment and went with what immediately came out of my big-fat mouth, which just happened to be _peacefully co-exist_. _Who the hell even says stuff like that in today's world?_

During the night I made up my mind several times to just go to her room and ask her out but I chickened out every time. Finally I succumbed into a fitful sleep where I dreamed that I was wearing my geeky glasses from high school and Bella was laughing in my face calling me a geeky stupid boy… like _her_.

**-OTC-**

The next morning the first thing that infiltrated my brain was the smell coming from the kitchen. I descended the stairs afraid of waking up to find that I was dreaming. But it was no dream.

My stomach growled loudly at the sight of Bella putting together sandwiches for our lunch while flipping omelets at the same time. I couldn't even remember when was the last time I had home-cooked packed lunch; during high school maybe?

Bella must've felt my stare because she looked up from her task and greeted me, "Hey, good morning. I thought since we'll have a double shift to look forward to today, we could take a pre-packed lunch." Her voice seemed normal. Maybe she has forgiven me for my stupidity last night. _Or she doesn't give a fuck about going out on dates with your sorry ass._ I shushed my subconscious and decided to accept the olive branch she had extended with the lunch and just go with it.

So, I gave her a grateful smile before saying, "That would be great, actually. What sandwiches are you making?"

She mumbled something about not knowing what I liked and then said, "There's a PB&J and a ham sandwich. Pick one." I literally zoned out the moment she said PB&J. _Seriously! This woman is trying to kill me with her awesomeness! First she makes me Mac & Cheese and now PB&J? Damn! If we weren't already married I'd be in the danger of dropping down on my knees to beg her to marry me!_

My feelings must have been apparent on my face because she smirked at me and pushed a Clingfilm-wrapped sandwich towards me saying, "I'm guessing you want the PB&J?" I nodded dumbly before thanking her.

After that we rushed through our breakfast and I had Bella's tea once again. Suddenly I noticed she didn't have a tea-cup in front of her and asked, "You don't drink tea?"

She grimaced before replying, "I'm just not fond of tea. I'll get a coffee from the vending machine when I get to the hospital." Again I felt like shit. The woman was making me tea and cooking my meals and I was such a douche that I hadn't even noticed that she needed a coffee-maker at home? I needed to repair this- pronto.

So, when after a few minutes Alec called through the intercom to say that Bella's _brother_ was there to pick her up, I bade her goodbye and then went to Emmett to ask him to order a coffee maker for me by the next week. Once he heard it was for Bella, Emmett surprisingly agreed without pulling my leg. _He must really care for Bella like a little sister._

**-OTC-**

That Wednesday a major accident occurred in the nearest highway so the ER was literally flooded with patients. We all had to be there to help out with whatever we could. I didn't get to see Bella except for during my round because the clinical pharmacist in the CVS unit had called in sick and Bella had to manage the patients there as well as in our own ward.

After six gruesome hours in the ER, I handed over a hand injury to Hale and Marks to check if they could detect the extent of nerve injury as a test and took my lunch break. The PB&J was so good- especially since Bella had put strawberry jam in it that I wanted to kiss her as a thank you. I had never liked strawberry before but the smell reminded me of Bella and then and there I fell in love with strawberry Jam.

I saw Rosalie in the cafeteria and asked her where Bella was. She gave me a knowing look before telling me that Bella was busy monitoring a patient on Warfarin therapy. I sighed quietly and before going back to work, I sent Bella a text message—

_Thank you for the PB&J. It was delicious. How was your sandwich? ~~~ Edward~~~_

I got sucked in to work the moment I got off the elevator. Apparently both of my interns were so sure of themselves they were about to ask the resident neurosurgeon to cut open my patient; when in reality the boy had no nerve damage at all! _Way to test the interns, Cullen!_

The next time I got a few minutes break to get water I checked my iphone and there was a new text message from Bella—

_You are welcome. My sandwich was good too- seeing as I was the one who made it! Jazz said you are almost drowning in patients! I hope you get some time to get dinner. ~~~ Bella ~~~_

I wanted to gloat at the concern I detected in her reply but since she was behaving in a platonic manner I decided to respect her wishes and sent her a '_Yeah, you too_' as reply before going back to the ER.

**BPOV**

Edward and I were co-existing. We were flat-mates and we co-existed peacefully. Still I felt a slight sting of sadness when I didn't see him almost the whole day Wednesday- unless you count during our routine rounds.

When I finally managed to find some time for dinner I called Jasper to find out if he were free and _subtly_ ask if Edward was free for a break as well. However I must have been subtle like a freaking elephant walking on a plastic ball. Because the moment Jasper picked up the phone his first words were, "He's busy right now, sis. A patient has just come out of the OR and he's been called to check his responses to nervous stimuli. I, however, am free as a bird."

I grunted saying I wanted to ask him if he wanted to take a break since Rose was about to go on hers as well and then vehemently declining that I had any interest in Edward- whatsoever. So in the end of the day, I had to have dinner without Edward while he was poking a patient with a hammer. _Lovely fucking day, indeed!_

**-OTC-**

The next day, Thursday, when I finally got off my shift after the morning round with both Edward and Dr. Ellis, the Cardio resident, I was feeling like a fucking zombie! The moment I walked into the parking garage, my mood lifted. Because there- sitting beside Rose's BMW was my truck! _I'd have to thank Archie for hurrying up with my truck._ I practically threw myself inside the cab of my truck and drove back home.

It seemed Edward had beat me to the house-again. Because the first thing that caught my eyes was the haphazardly thrown lab coat on the living room floor and then I saw his door was closed when I got up to my room. I decided to let him sleep off his exhaustion and went to take a shower before lying down to fall asleep immediately.

**-OTC-**

When I woke up it was dark outside my window. I decided to don on a pair of yoga pants and a simple t-shirt before going downstairs. I saw Edward lounging on the couch with a book in his hands. Hearing my footsteps he looked up and smiled, "Hi, I heard you worked pretty hard yesterday? What do you want for dinner? I could order take-out."

I smiled back at his opening line and said, "Hey. From what I heard, you had a busier day than me. So why don't you choose something to watch while I quickly put together something to eat?"

He protested saying I should rest after the long shift but I simply told him I liked cooking. The truth was I liked cooking _for him_. The way he smiled when he heard I was making M&C and the way his eyes twinkled at the sight of PB&J made me _want to_ cook for him. _But that's just because we were co-existing, right?_

I went into the kitchen and went for fast and trendy instead of complex but classy and made chicken stir fry for both of us. We again had a TV dinner watching _Friends_.

It seemed like we were getting on a track- friendly breakfast, work, cooking dinner, watching Friends and finally saying goodnight at the door. _Now the only problem was I just had to stop myself from wanting to kiss him- shouldn't be too hard, right?_

**-OTC-**

It was Friday and I was so looking forward to having a whole day off the next day. I had tons of things to do- most important one was laundry. I was mentally checking stuff off my to-do list while pigging out on lunch when suddenly my phone started ringing and flashing a name I had learned to both love and fear in the past two weeks- Alice.

I apprehensively put the phone up to my ear and said, "Hey, Alice. What's up? How are you?"

Her greeting was accusatory when she started, "How do you think I am, Bella? After such a long wait I finally get a sister but she doesn't even call me all week to ask me how I am."

I instantly felt bad- Alice had a way of making you feel guilty for things- and mumbled, "We had been swarmed at work, Allie. Anyway I can make it up to you?" The moment the words left my mouth I wanted to take them back. But Alice jumped at the chance and started talking excitedly.

"Of course, you can, Bella. Right now I am driving towards Seattle- well I stopped for gas and decided to call you- but you get the point. The thing is I want to go clubbing. I haven't been to any American clubs yet and I want to check out the night life. I have already talked to Rosalie and she said you and Ed have a day off tomorrow. She agreed to come along because her shift doesn't start till tomorrow evening. So I'll get to your place within three hours, I think. Then we'll get ready and go clubbing. Rose already said there's a new club she wanted to try. So, what do you think?" she finally stopped to take a breath.

I wanted to say, "_I think you should take a few sedatives and then maybe sleep for about a year. And Rose wants to try out the whole fucking city. That didn't mean we all do too._" But my manners prevented me from doing so and I just said, "Umm… I don't know, Alice. I'm not really a clubbing kind of person. I don't think Edward would want to go, either."

She immediately started tittering, "Oh, nonsense, Bella. Everyone is a clubbing kind of person. I will make sure Edward agrees too." I mentally face-palmed because I was sure she was going to manipulate Edward into saying yes. I was looking for another escape route when she asked me, "Hey, Bella, will you please ask Jasper to come with us as well?"

Her question made me smile and reminded me no matter how over-bearing she got, I still loved Alice. I had already sensed something between those two during our reception party. For them, I decided, I would endure anything- even something as mind-numbing as clubbing. So I promised Alice that I would bring Jasper with us and also said that clubbing _could be_ fun. _Yeah, Swan, you are such a liar!_ _Looked like we have a _killer _evening to look forward to!_

**A/N: Okay, first off... not one of my best chapters, I know. But who here has missed Alice? *Holds up hand nervously***

**Let me know what you thought of the chapter and leave a review, please?**

**Take care.**

**Ann**


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